ALL SMILES: Sixteen winners in New Jersey — including Barbara Jo Riivald (front, second from right) — collect the Powerball jackpot yesterday. (AP)
Her dad, state Sen. John Brown, was the “father of the New Jersey Lottery” — and now the daughter of the late lawmaker is among 16 Ocean County employees sharing a winning Powerball ticket, officials said yesterday.
When Barbara Jo Riivald became an instant millionaire last week, she forgot that her dad had written the law creating the state game of chance.
“When we actually hit this lottery, I — not even in my mind did I remember that my father was the father of the Lottery,” said Riivald, one of the lucky office-mates who named themselves “Ocean’s 16.”
“And I called my sister to tell her [about the winning ticket] and she said, ‘Oh my gosh, Barb, dad is just smiling down. It’s his lottery.’ ”
Brown was an early booster of the lottery and casino gambling in Atlantic City.
Riivald’s parents died in recent years.
“The only thing I wanted to do the next morning [after winning] was pick up the phone and call him and call my mom — and then I realized I couldn’t do that,” Riivald said, choking back tears. “This is really a special moment.”
Sixteen co-workers at the Ocean County Vehicles Services Department in Toms River chipped in to buy one of three winning Powerball tickets, drawn a week ago tonight.
Their ticket was worth $61.9 million after taxes, which, divided 16 ways, comes to a little more than $3.8 million apiece.
“It is truly a miracle,” said Riivald.
Several of the winners said they had been displaced by Hurricane Sandy.
Darlene Riccio and her daughter have been living with relatives ever since her rented Brick Township house was destroyed by the killer storm.
“It has been an extremely rough year since then,” said the “Ocean’s 16” partner.
“The first thing I’m going to do is buy me and my daughter a house, and bring my dog home.”
William Seeley, wearing a stars-and-stripes cap, dark glasses and a long beard, said he plans to retire with his winnings and spend his weekends watching stock-car racing.
“I’m going to continue to watch NASCAR races on Sunday. Maybe I’ll be at a log cabin on multiple acres of land,” said Seeley, who had a tree fall on his home during Sandy. “We are happy, happy, happy!”