Oregon man keeps childhood promise, splits lottery win with brother

When Eric Hale was a kid, he promised his brother, Quinn, that if he ever won the lottery, he would split the winnings with him.

Last month, Eric, 45, who lives in Bend, Oregon, called 43-year-old Quinn in Yakima, Washington, with some good news: They were about to split $1 million.

Eric had won a $1 million jackpot in the September 24 Powerball drawing, playing the same numbers he’d been using for 20 years.

"When I was a kid, I promised my brother that if I ever won the lottery, I would split it with him," Eric told KPTV. “He was my first call when I realized I won.”

"I was like, ‘Are you sitting down? Guess what? We won a million dollars!’" he told WPTV.

The Hale brothers collected their cheques on October 9 at Oregon Lottery headquarters.

After taxes, each took home around $335,000.

“I still am in shock even though we have the cheques,” Quinn told lottery officials. “This is beyond cool. I never believed he would actually do it.”

According to the Bend Bulletin, Eric plans to use some of his winnings to pursue his master’s degree in clinical counselling. He also plans on taking a 20-day trip to China.

Quinn, who is currently pursuing a doctorate degree, will use his half of the jackpot to pay off student loans and put a down-payment on a motor home.

“Sure, I could have headed for Costa Rica,” Eric said of keeping the entire million for himself, “but I kept my promise.”

In July, 17 siblings split a $20.1-million lottery win in honour of their late mother who always dreamed of winning the lottery and splitting the jackpot with her children.