Atlanta- Calvin Beauchamp, a 66 year old resident of Atlanta, is the most recent winner of a $73 million jackpot in the multi-state Power Ball Lottery. Beauchamp was given the ticket as a tip by a man in the bathroom of the Palace Catering Hall, where he has worked as an attendant for over 25 years.
"After he did his business, he came over to the sink to wash up. I promptly gave him a hand towel to dry off with, same as I do with all the guests. I offered him a selection of colognes and mints from my tray. I believe he took a squirt of Chaps and a butterscotch candy if I'm not mistaken, it's hard to keep track. I wished him a pleasant evening, same as I always do, and I saw him rooting around his pockets, presumably for a tip. He pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket, but didn't have anything smaller than a twenty, so he shrugged and dropped a folded piece of paper into my tip basket. He laughed and said 'good luck buddy' as he walked out the door. I didn't get a chance to look at it until the end of my shift. It was a busy night. Open bar and hot buffet that night. When I hear that, I know I'm going to get a lot of traffic," said Beauchamp.
Beauchamp, at first, didn't know what the paper was, having never played the lottery before.
"My first reaction was to throw it in the trash, thinking someone pulled a fast one on me. It wouldn't have been the first time. I've gotten all kinds of things left in my tip basket. Old store receipts, condoms, fake money. One guy even left pictures of his children in the basket, which I presume was a drunken mistake. The Lord only knows.This was my first lottery ticket. Beginner's luck I guess."
Beauchamp brought the ticket home and left it on his dresser along with the rest of the evening's tips, where his wife found it the next morning.
"I was fast asleep when I heard Florence scream. It scared the bejesus out of me, I thought someone had broken in," said Beauchamp, "I came down the stairs with my Louisville Slugger and saw her sitting at the kitchen table clutching the ticket with the newspaper open. 'We won Calvin! We won!' she kept screaming."
Beauchamp quickly confirmed his wife's findings and called the toll free number on the back of the ticket.
He and his wife decided to take a lump sum, instead of the usual monthly payments, due to their age.
"In the long run it would have been more money to take the payment plan, but at my age, you never know. I'm not taking any chances."
After receiving his check, Beauchamp took a week off and returned to his job at Palace Catering Hall, to the disbelief of everyone who knows him.
"I was shocked when Calvin called me about winning the lottery, but I was speechless when he showed up to work the next week," said Ken Dupre, manager of Palace Catering Hall, "don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have him here, he's the best in the business. I'm just surprised that he wants to keep working."
"When you find something that you enjoy, and that you're really good at, you don't just throw that away. No, sir, not after 25 years. I'm going to keep working the job that I love until they tell me to stop," said Beauchamp,"Florence doesn't agree, but she understands."
Asked what it is about standing in a men's room ten hours a day that allures him, Beauchamp had this say.
"I feel like I make a difference in people's lives, and that gives me a deep feeling of pride. Do they need a breath mint or a quick comb of the hair? I'm their last line of defense before they go back out there. It's a cruel world outside that bathroom door. I've met a lot of interesting men from all walks of life, and I feel that I've helped them all.
"I've seen and heard a variety of things in there, as you can well imagine, but much like a doctor, I live by a certain oath. I could tell you stories that would curl your hair, but there is a certain loyalty I feel with the men that come in there, and I would never betray that trust."
Asked if he minds standing in a poorly ventilated room amid the gastronimical output of hundreds of men who have gorged themselves on enormous amounts of food, Beauchamp smiled and said, "You get used to it. To me it all smells like people having a really good time." DD
"After he did his business, he came over to the sink to wash up. I promptly gave him a hand towel to dry off with, same as I do with all the guests. I offered him a selection of colognes and mints from my tray. I believe he took a squirt of Chaps and a butterscotch candy if I'm not mistaken, it's hard to keep track. I wished him a pleasant evening, same as I always do, and I saw him rooting around his pockets, presumably for a tip. He pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket, but didn't have anything smaller than a twenty, so he shrugged and dropped a folded piece of paper into my tip basket. He laughed and said 'good luck buddy' as he walked out the door. I didn't get a chance to look at it until the end of my shift. It was a busy night. Open bar and hot buffet that night. When I hear that, I know I'm going to get a lot of traffic," said Beauchamp.
Beauchamp, at first, didn't know what the paper was, having never played the lottery before.
"My first reaction was to throw it in the trash, thinking someone pulled a fast one on me. It wouldn't have been the first time. I've gotten all kinds of things left in my tip basket. Old store receipts, condoms, fake money. One guy even left pictures of his children in the basket, which I presume was a drunken mistake. The Lord only knows.This was my first lottery ticket. Beginner's luck I guess."
Beauchamp brought the ticket home and left it on his dresser along with the rest of the evening's tips, where his wife found it the next morning.
"I was fast asleep when I heard Florence scream. It scared the bejesus out of me, I thought someone had broken in," said Beauchamp, "I came down the stairs with my Louisville Slugger and saw her sitting at the kitchen table clutching the ticket with the newspaper open. 'We won Calvin! We won!' she kept screaming."
Beauchamp quickly confirmed his wife's findings and called the toll free number on the back of the ticket.
He and his wife decided to take a lump sum, instead of the usual monthly payments, due to their age.
"In the long run it would have been more money to take the payment plan, but at my age, you never know. I'm not taking any chances."
After receiving his check, Beauchamp took a week off and returned to his job at Palace Catering Hall, to the disbelief of everyone who knows him.
"I was shocked when Calvin called me about winning the lottery, but I was speechless when he showed up to work the next week," said Ken Dupre, manager of Palace Catering Hall, "don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have him here, he's the best in the business. I'm just surprised that he wants to keep working."
"When you find something that you enjoy, and that you're really good at, you don't just throw that away. No, sir, not after 25 years. I'm going to keep working the job that I love until they tell me to stop," said Beauchamp,"Florence doesn't agree, but she understands."
Asked what it is about standing in a men's room ten hours a day that allures him, Beauchamp had this say.
"I feel like I make a difference in people's lives, and that gives me a deep feeling of pride. Do they need a breath mint or a quick comb of the hair? I'm their last line of defense before they go back out there. It's a cruel world outside that bathroom door. I've met a lot of interesting men from all walks of life, and I feel that I've helped them all.
"I've seen and heard a variety of things in there, as you can well imagine, but much like a doctor, I live by a certain oath. I could tell you stories that would curl your hair, but there is a certain loyalty I feel with the men that come in there, and I would never betray that trust."
Asked if he minds standing in a poorly ventilated room amid the gastronimical output of hundreds of men who have gorged themselves on enormous amounts of food, Beauchamp smiled and said, "You get used to it. To me it all smells like people having a really good time." DD
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