Waseca couple wins $180 million

May 07, 2008 01:06 am

— Paul Rosenau has kidded before about winning the lottery.
This time, however, it was no joke.
As wife Sue watched the Powerball drawing, she read off the numbers to Paul, who was in the kitchen. When she read the Powerball number — 40 — Paul exclaimed excitedly that they had won.
“I’ve done that before to see if I could get a rise out of her,” said Paul Rosenau, who admits he buys tickets only when he remembers. “I had to tell her, ‘No, I really think we won.’”
But the Waseca couple still wasn’t sure. And because they didn’t have Internet at their house, they drove to Sue’s work at the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute and rechecked the numbers on the computer.
Still not sure, Paul and Sue triple checked their numbers the next morning.
“I got a newspaper and a glass of orange juice,” Paul said. “And sure enough, the numbers hadn’t changed.”
Neither have plans to quit their jobs. Paul is a heavy equipment operator and Sue is a communications assistant. Both 54, they said it’s too early to say how they will spend and invest their $180.1 million jackpot. The couple opted for the $88 million cash option, which amounts to $59.6 million after taxes.
The Rosenaus are Minnesota’s 20th Powerball winner since the lottery began in 1992 and the first since November of 2006.
“It’s just a feeling of total disbelief that it’s real,” said Sue Rosenau. “It’s almost bigger than you can get your mind around.”

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