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OGDEN, Utah (AP) - Nine co-workers at Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah have won a $1 million Powerball prize from the Idaho Lottery.
The group started an office pool at the 75th Medical Group in Layton in March, and spent a total of $450 on tickets to win $111,111 each.
Several members of the group claimed the prize in Boise on Friday from a ticket purchased in Malad, Idaho, for the Aug. 25 draw.
Group leaders Ju Nare Cope, of Ogden, and Michelle Allgaier, of South Weber, said they knew they had won big after matching the first five numbers, but not the Powerball, on Aug. 25.
"Then (Allgaier) went on the Internet (Monday morning) and found out we had won one million dollars," Cope said. "That news spread like wildfire. The office was electric!"
Most of the nine co-workers plan to invest their winnings and pay down debts. Cope, Allgaier and another co-worker also plan to take trips to Hawaii.
The group called their team "Dreams Recalculated."
"We did a lot of research, made every one of our participants sign contracts, and then everyone put in $10 once every five weeks," Allgaier said.
Lottery spokesman David Workman said it was the seventh million-dollar-plus payout for Utahns, and most of those winning tickets were sold in Malad.
The largest Idaho Lottery ticket ever claimed by Utahns was for $2 million earlier in August by a South Jordan couple who split the winnings with their niece in Salmon, Idaho.
The Powerball jackpot for Saturday night's draw is an estimated $80 million.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
9/1/2012 2:15:35 PM (GMT -6:00)
