By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY
SIOUX FALLS — The nation's newest mega-millionaire was identified Friday as a rancher from a remote part of the wind-swept western South Dakota plains.
Neal Wanless, 23, who lives outside the small town of Mission, S.D., won a $232.1 million Powerball jackpot, according to a statement this afternoon from the South Dakota Lottery. He was to be introduced to the rest of the world during a Friday ceremony in Pierre, South Dakota Lottery spokesman Mike Mueller said.

It took just 23 seconds for Wanless to become $232 million richer. That's how much time it took from the instant that "05" was readable on the first white ball drawn during the May 27 Powerball drawing, to when the "07" was clearly viewable on the red Powerball.

The ticket was sold in Winner, S.D. — a town about 35 miles from Wanless' home — late last month and matched all five white balls and the Powerball with Wanless' incredibly lucky combination of 5-16-6-21-12 and the 7 Powerball. The numbers represent the day and month of family members' birthdays, state lottery officials said.

Wanless decided to take the jackpot as a one-time cash prize of $118,005,530, according to a statement from South Dakota lottery officials. After federal tax withholding, he will receive a prize payment $88,504,147, not including another $100 he won on the same ticket, the statement said.

Wanless said his family had fallen behind in their taxes and recently had a mobile home repossessed. He lives on his family's 320-acre ranch near Mission, S.D., and bought the ticket late last month during a trip to buy livestock feed.

He said his family has been helped by their community and that he "intends to repay that help many times over."

He said in a statement issued Friday that he plans to continue ranching, albeit on a larger ranch. He said he recently told his horse, Eleanor, that "It'd be nice if we go for a longer ride than usual on a bigger ranch of our own."

Martin reports for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Contributing: Associated
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Gawd, I hope he doesn't drink it all up... Otherwise, I'm tickled to death for him, maybe they can get off the gubberment teat and stand on their own feet.
Those of us who've shot out of Mission know it's a small, small town and can use the influx of money, I just hope they use it wisely. I fear they won't.

I question why he was buying a lottery ticket when he was in financial hardship...but who am I to judge....

Never the less I'm glad for him, and I agree, I hope it used wisely.

Hey, maybe he will pay people to come and shoot his prairie dogs......I volunteer

Bob

Saw the kid on the news last night, he was white, which is sorta halfway surprising, there aren't that many whites living on the Rez. There is SOME deeded ground there, presumably he's from one of those families. In any event, he seemed to be a pretty straight-up guy, maybe he WON'T drink it all up, after all.

I'll bet he's everybody's best friend, now. The local gasmart/casino/drive-in is bound to prosper.

One morning we took off to shoot and I saw these three guys leaning against the side of a building drinking from brown paper bags. Late that afternoon when we rolled back into town, the same three guys had simply moved around the the building to follow the shade. I had to chuckle.

a 320 acre ranch is absolutely NOTHING. No way for even one guy to live off of that, grazing, anyway. Maybe if it was a feedlot.

Seemed like a pretty not-messed-up kid, too. And when you're in that much debt, $5 isn't going to make any difference

Yeah you're right. 320 acres seems like a lot to folks living here or further east. There, it's not even a good size front yard. For Pete's sake, you couldn't even raise a decent bunch of prairie dogs on that!

No doubt the guy has a whole bunch of new friends and probably some new family members he never knew he had.

320 acres on the prairie isn't much. Two sections....basically 1/2 mile by 1 mile.