When Thomas Cook won a Powerball jackpot in June 2020, he honored a promise made 28 years earlier: if he or his friend Joseph Feeney ever won, they would share the winnings.
Cook had bought the ticket. The agreement meant his longtime friend would share in the prize.
The Wisconsin men had sealed their promise with a handshake in 1992. In 2020, they split the cash payout from an advertised $22 million jackpot, receiving about $5.7 million each after federal and state taxes.
Featured image: illustrative stock photograph of a person offering a handshake, not Cook, Feeney, or their original agreement. Photo: TeroVesalainen / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0.
A promise made in 1992
According to the Wisconsin Lottery’s official account, published by Powerball, Thomas Cook and Joseph Feeney agreed to divide a future jackpot regardless of which man purchased the winning ticket.
Cook lived in Elk Mound, Wisconsin. Feeney lived in nearby Menomonie.
Their agreement became a reality when Cook bought a ticket at Synergy Coop Exit 45 in Menomonie for the June 10, 2020 drawing. It was the jackpot winner.
The lottery publicly announced their story in July 2020. This is a look back at that win, rather than a newly awarded prize.
Photo: Aaron Carlson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. No editorial changes.
.jpg){kind=link}
The phone call his friend could hardly believe
Cook called Feeney to tell him about the winning ticket.
Feeney, an avid fisherman, later recalled his surprised reply: “Are you jerking my bobber?” His response was reported in UPI’s contemporary coverage.
The call brought an old promise into the present. The jackpot was real, and Cook was sharing it.
The story drew attention because the friendship had come before the money. Their agreement was already decades old when there were millions of dollars to divide.
What the $22 million prize actually paid
The headline figure needs a little explanation.
The advertised jackpot was $22 million. The men chose the cash option of approximately $16.7 million, then divided the proceeds. After federal and state taxes, each received about $5.7 million, according to Associated Press reporting from July 2020.
So neither man received $11 million in spendable cash. That number is half the advertised jackpot, before accounting for their choice of payout and taxes.
The difference does not diminish Cook’s decision. He shared the actual proceeds of a life-changing win with the friend to whom he had made the promise.
Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. No editorial changes.
.jpg){kind=link}
Retirement and time with family
Cook gave his two weeks’ notice and retired after the win. Feeney had already retired from an area fire department, according to WEAU’s contemporary reporting.
The friends said they had no extravagant plans. They looked forward to family time and some travel.
The lottery’s account described an earlier road trip that Cook, Feeney, and their wives had taken together in a small PT Cruiser convertible. For future trips, they hoped to upgrade their vehicle.
Their plans gave the large numbers a familiar meaning: freedom from work, time with loved ones, and another journey together.
A ticket changed their finances in 2020. Cook’s decision to keep the 1992 agreement ensured that both friends shared the benefit.