A Promise Was Made
It is pretty normal to make promises to someone all the time, but not everyone keeps true to their word and always breaks the promises they made, no matter how they swear not to break them. However, Thomas Cook from Wisconsin was not the typical friend who breaks promises.
Youtube/Wisconsin Lottery
Thomas Cook eventually made a bet with his friend that if ever one of them would win the lottery, they would share the big prize. The question is, would he really make good on the promise he made with his friend way back 30 years ago? Or will he concede to the temptation and keep all the winnings for himself?
A Handshake To Seal The Deal
What comes into your mind if you agreed to something with another person or party? Should you cross your heart? Or just simply nod at them? Well, for these two men, a handshake seals the deal for them. A handshake for them was literally as sacred as a contract.
Youtube/Wisconsin Lottery
These two grown men just agreed to share their winnings, if ever they win the lottery. As temptations linger just in their shadows, is it possible that they will keep their promise until the day comes that one of them is going to win the lottery? Well, we shall soon find out.
Arrival Of Powerball At Wisconsin
Way back in 1992, Wisconsin became a state that was known to be a pioneer of the Powerball lottery game. For some people, this was a big opportunity as this game can literally turn your world upside down, for the better or for the worse. Pretty much a lot of people started playing the lottery.
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As for Thomas Cook, he also sees this as an opportunity to make some quick cash especially as Thomas is just an ordinary guy living an ordinary life. But this game isn’t always gonna end up happily, there was quite a big risk in lottery games. As for Thomas, the odds were quite against him, however, Thomas had an idea to increase his chances of winning.
A Pact Was Made
Thomas Cook has made up his mind and decided something quite fascinating. During the Powerball’s Beginning year, Thomas and his friend, Joseph Feeney, has decided to make a deal that would forever change their life. Both of them decided and promised each other that if ever one of them wins the lottery, they would share half of the winning.
Youtube/MiniMartRutherford
Quite a fascinating promise and deal for both of the men. Hence, a pact was made and a promise was soon to be fulfilled. Both of them even shook their hands on it, however, a lingering question was still on everyone’s mind. Would they be able to fulfill their promise?
30 Years Of Playing
Thomas Cook and Joseph Feeney continued to play Powerball for the next 30 years after their deal, however, neither one of them had ever hit a jackpot. Maybe the promise that they made might never come true at all. But despite having the odds, both Cook and Feeney continued to play the game.
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You see, in a lottery game, what you require isn’t necessarily just luck, it requires an extreme amount of perseverance and patience. Salute to both of these men for enduring the game for the last 30 years. However, fate had other plans for these two grown men.
Quite An Expensive Deal
As you already know, playing in a lottery is quite costly. And much worse, playing in the lottery is quite addicting. Some people wanted to stop but couldn’t stop because they are already addicted to it. The thoughts that linger in your mind are like “What if I win?” and “What if this will be it?”
Flickr / Chris Winters
As for these two friends, Cook and Feeney both had to budget their money carefully in order for them to afford some lottery tickets every few weeks. As you already know, both Cook and Feeney are just ordinary people living ordinary lives. Despite being ordinary, both men still were able to buy a few tickets per year.
Make A Decision
Winning in the lottery comes with luck, perseverance, and patience. It isn’t easy as people think. If you don’t have the right state of mind, you could overthink and get depressed. The odds aren’t on anyone’s side. You just have to trust your wits and make a decision.
Youtube/USA Mega
However, those who took a risk and made a decision somehow won and received a lot of money from the game. But those that do win have to make a decision on how to receive their winning. Unfortunately for the winner, it unfortunately requires paying more taxes.
Two Choices
The winner in lotteries is often given two choices. They can either get their winning through an annuity or by lump sum. It’s pretty common in lotteries to offer these kinds of options or choices as people have a different perspective on their winnings especially ordinary people.
Youtube/Wisconsin Lottery
With an annuity, their winnings would get split over a 29-year-period. But with a lump sum, they would get all their earnings all at once after taxes are taken out. As for the two gentlemen, the lump sum seemed like a better choice for them as they never imagined that they would make such decisions.
Even Pandemic Couldn’t Stop Him
2020 was a rough year because of the pandemic and lots of people were affected especially with most people becoming unemployed. The pandemic really damaged majority of the economy thus making it even harder for people to live and create panic in various parts of the world.
YouTube / CNBC
As for Cook, he wasn’t panicking even for a bit. The pandemic couldn’t stop Cook from continuing his tradition of playing Powerball Lottery. Sometime around June, Cook bought a ticket just like any other ordinary week for him as for his tradition. However, this time had a different outcome.
A Good Morning Indeed
A new morning has started for Cook. Doing the usual things such as cooking breakfast and turning on the tv and checking the news. As he began to turn on the tv, he suddenly felt a chill going down his spine as if something big was about to happen.
Youtube/KHOU
As Cook looked at his lottery ticket and compared the first two numbers on his ticket to the lottery news, he felt his entire body go cold. Something was happening right before his very eyes. As for Cook, this might finally be the day he’s been waiting for over 30 years.
The Winning Ticket
After comparing the first two numbers, the following numbers also are compared by Cook. Cook was in a daze for several minutes and then he recalled what had led to this life-changing moment. For a brief moment, he recalled all the events before this happened.
YouTube / TMJ4 Milwaukee
Cook had thought that this day would just be a normal day. When cook finally made his usual run inside of the convenience store while filling up his car’s gas tank just a few days prior, Cook should have sorted his feelings as he would soon be left trying to remember the very moment.
Double Checked The Ticket
As Cook continued to check the ticket, he had doubts about the ticket as he could never believe that he had the winning ticket. He then asked his loving wife to double-check the ticket to confirm if the numbers matched the winning ticket. Did he really just hit the jackpot?
YouTube / KHOU
As soon as Cook’s wife checked the lottery ticket, she confirmed that it was really the winning ticket. Cook won the Powerball lottery and was now an instant millionaire. From just an ordinary person doing the tradition that he follows into a millionaire in an instant.
Finally A Winner
Finally, after 30 years of playing the Powerball lottery, Cook finally won. He was destined to win the lottery and take home $22 million, but despite being the winner, he was still in a state of shock about this life-changing event that was happening to him.
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Cook also assumed that all of this was just a dream and he really thought that it wasn’t real, until the day he went to get his photo taken with the big check that was given to him. However, Cook couldn’t celebrate directly as his family didn’t know that he made a deal with his friend.
His Family Had No Idea
Before celebrating, Cook took a deep breath and prepared to say something off of his chest to his wife and his family. Of course, he made that deal with his friend, Feeney, and didn’t say a word to his family. However, Cook wasn’t really that kind of person to break a promise.
Flickr / Norm
As soon as he got the chance to talk, Cook told his family that he made a deal way back 30 years that if either Cook or his friend would win the lottery, they will take half of the earnings each. Finally, the deal was completed without breaking the promise, and this just proves that Cook was such a genuine man.
The Right Thing To Do
Cook wasn’t always the type of guy to break promises. He knew he had to do the right thing as this wasn’t just his money. The jackpot that he won also belonged to Feeney as well. After all, what was their friendship worth if he breaks his promise?
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And that’s exactly what Cook was planning to do. A deal is a deal, right? And making good on the promise that you made makes you feel better about yourself as well. I mean, 30 long years, they both have waited for it and they both deserved the jackpot.
Reaching Out For His Friend
The promise is gonna be fulfilled as Cook rings his friend to tell him the good news. When Cook called Feeney – who is in fact a huge fan of fishing, to tell him the good news, Feeney assumed that Cook was just messing with him as this news was quite unbelievable.
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“He called me, and I said, ‘Are you jerking my bobber?’” said Feeney, according to Powerball. I mean, you waited for 30 years and finally, it happens, probably you wouldn’t believe it first, right? Well, Feeney didn’t believe it at first also.
Convincing His Dear Friend
Well, as you would probably know, Feeney still didn’t believe Cook. It took Cook a lot of time in order for him to convince Feeney. After a few minutes have passed, Cook finally made Feeney believe that he actually won the Powerball Lottery jackpot.
Shutterstock; YouTube / KHOU
After realizing that Cook was very serious, Feeney was also in a state of shock as he realized that he also is a winner. But the question remains in everyone’s thoughts, would his friend really honor the promise that they made to each other 30 years before? Or would Cook leave him hanging?
His Friend’s Wife Wanted To Be Included
As soon as Feeney received the wonderful news, Feeney’s wife eventually found out about the deal that these two men agreed on from all those years ago. Well, as you probably know how every wife reacts to their husband winning a lottery, yep, you guess it right.
YouTube / CBS Boston
Feeney’s wife was full of excitement about her husband’s friend winning the lottery. She knows that she needs to be included as she is her husband’s wife and she also gets to spend some of it. However, would they really get the chance to spend the money?
The Temptation To Keep The Money
Well, it’s pretty normal to have temptations surrounding you especially after winning a huge amount of money. As for Cook, he was facing a bit of a crisis as one side of him wanted to keep all the money for himself, and the other side wanted to share the money and honor their promise 30 years ago.
Metro Goldwyn Meyer
However, the deal they made before doesn’t have any contract and was only done as they shook each other’s hand. The question is, could Cook really live his life and not have the kind of conscience that would haunt him forever for keeping all the money to himself?
Never Imagined To Win
The lottery is a sort of gamble that no one expects to win at all. It requires a very huge risk that only a few people would dare to take on. Cook and Feeney never really imagined that they would really win the lottery. Luck was on their side at that moment.
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According to them, the deal that they promised each other 30 years ago was just a way of messing around since they didn’t really expect to win at all. But now, Cook finally won. They then sit down with each other and had a talk about this life-changing moment.
The Promise Was Finally Honored
News spread fast and as soon as the media knew what was happening, they then covered the story of the two gentlemen. Soon, the whole world was wondering what the two friends agreed on and what will they do next as official lottery winners.
YouTube/ehowfinance
And you guessed it, as mentioned earlier, Cook wasn’t the type of friend that would leave his friend hanging. Cook and Feeney decided to opt for a lump sum of their two earning. And after state and federal taxes, the men received about $5.7 million each.
The Time Has Come To Retire
Now that Cook was finally a millionaire, he then decided that it was really time for him to retire as he was getting old already. So, he gave his notice and quit his job two weeks later. What about Feeney? Did he retire as well?
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Well, Feeney actually beat his Friend, Cook, as he already retired from the fire department before winning the Lottery. Now the two could start enjoying their golden years with their wives. The first thing they did was travel with their family. They also shared some of their winnings by creating a social media page and sharing it with the whole world.