Six people hit by Superstorm Sandy were among the 16 New Jersey garage workers who won a third of the recent $448m Powerball jackpot, it has emerged.
The group of Ocean County workers, who have dubbed themselves Ocean's 16 in a nod to the string of Ocean's Eleven heist films, appeared at a news conference Tuesday in Toms River.
"When I found out we were winners, I was speechless," said Darlene Riccio.
Ms Riccio and her daughter have been living with relatives since October, when Superstorm Sandy wrecked the Brick Township house she and her daughter had been renting.
"It has been an extremely rough year since then," she said.
"The first thing I'm going to do is buy me and my daughter a house, and bring my dog home."
William Seeley, who said a tree fell on his home, was one of the few winners who says he may retire now.
"We are happy, happy, happy!" he said.
"I'm going to continue to watch Nascar races on Sunday. Maybe I'll be at a log cabin on multiple acres of land."
Almost all of the Ocean's 16 say they intend to continue working, at least for now.
After taxes, each of them will receive $3.8m (£2.5m).
"We are truly blessed for what we received," said Brian McCarthy, another of the winners.
"It's been truly great."
The players chose the cash option, taking a lump-sum payout immediately that generally cuts the value of the jackpot in half.
Barbara Jo Riivald initially forgot that her recently deceased father, state Senator John F Brown, wrote the law creating the New Jersey Lottery.
It took a phone call from her sister to make the connection once the winning numbers were drawn.
"She said, 'Dad is just smiling down. It's his lottery,'" Ms Riivald said.
The winning ticket, purchased at a supermarket in Little Egg Harbor, was one of three winners in last week's Powerball drawing.
A suburban Minneapolis man, project engineer Paul White, claimed one of the Powerball prizes last week.
The holder of the third winning ticket, sold in South Brunswick, New Jersey, has not yet come forward.
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