Powerball jackpot winners rebut claims of greed
The claim came after a report in The New York Post, which claimed that Steve and Carolyn West of Medford and Bob and Frances Chaney of Jacksonville demanded amenities such as a private jet, Broadway tickets and a limousine tour in exchange for an exclusive interview on the "Today" morning show. The two couples won a record $340 million Powerball jackpot on Oct. 19.
But a spokesman for the family told the Medford Mail-Tribune that the Wests and the Chaneys were just inquiring about protocol for appearing on a national television show, something they'd never done before.
"That's what it was, it was asking 'What do you do? Do you do this? Do you do that? We didn't know," the spokesman said Friday. "Is that asking for things? Is it demanding things?"
The lottery winners are scheduled to appear Monday on "Good Morning America," a local ABC network representative said.
The family spokesman, who declined to be identified, said correspondence from the marketing director for the multi-state firm that runs Powerball games was leaked to the Post, perhaps in retribution after the Wests and Chaneys decided to appear on the ABC show.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)