What to do with all that Powerball money? That is, if the rumors are true, what Gloria Mackenzie must be asking of her newfound riches. Or maybe she’s just wondering how she can show a little generosity to those less fortunate than her. Whatever the case, we have something of a mystery on our hands. According to diners at a Plant City, Florida restaurant, someone matching the description of Mackenzie, the winner of the massive Powerball jackpot, picked up the tab for every customer in the establishment at that time:
“It sure looked like her,” manager Stephanie Reaves said. “She looked like the woman on TV.”
Reaves said she was accompanied by another woman and a younger man. They ate, left around 4 p.m. and then the woman returned, offering to buy meals for 180 diners.
The tab: close to $2,600. She even gave $50 to each of the five servers.
“Everybody got up and applauded and started hugging her,” Reaves said. “In my 35 years in the restaurant industry, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
With that $3000 (I rounded up), Mackenzie, who took the $370 million cash option, still has, oh, something like $369,997,000 left to spend (before taxes, of course). It should be noted the charitable soul who paid for the meals denied that she was the Powerball winner, but considering the low profile Mackenzie has kept since the winning ticket was announced, it is doubtful she would even take credit for such a magnanimous act.
That, however, hasn’t stopped the restaurant manager Reaves from believing, “She said she wasn’t the one who won, but she sure fit the description.”