Lucky siblings — all 17 of them — win $20 million jackpot

After keeping up their late mother's tradition of playing the lottery, 17 siblings won a $20.1 million jackpot in New Jersey.

The Endreson brothers and sisters — all between the ages of 53 to 76 — started a lottery pool after their mother's death in 2004; they put their money together to take care of funeral expenses, and decided to use the leftover funds to start playing in honor of their mother, who dreamed of winning and buying bungalows on the Jersey Shore.

The Endresons had a rough year in 2012, with four siblings losing their homes during Superstorm Sandy, and a brother dying shortly after. "[This] couldn't have come at a better time," family spokeswoman Marie McHenry said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The family chose to take a lump sump payment of $14 million, the New Jersey Lottery said, which comes out to $10 million after taxes. McHenry didn't divulge how the money would be split, but it will be shared with their late brother's three children. When asked what their mother, Flossie, would say about the big win, one sibling yelled, "Hallelujah!"