A Handshake Promise Kept After Nearly Three Decades

A promise made almost three decades earlier turned into an extraordinary act of loyalty after a lottery win in the United States. What began as a simple handshake agreement between two friends eventually led to both becoming millionaires.

Thomas Cook from Elk Mound won a $22 million jackpot in the Powerball in June 2020 after buying a ticket at a gas station in Menomonie. While checking the numbers during breakfast, Cook and his wife were stunned to realize he had the winning ticket.

But instead of calling a lawyer or financial adviser first, Cook made a phone call to his longtime friend Joseph Feeney. The two men had made a pact many years earlier that if either one ever won the lottery, they would split the winnings.

The agreement dated back to the early nineties, when the friends sealed the deal with a simple handshake. For nearly three decades, they bought lottery tickets together every week, never knowing if their unlikely promise would ever matter.

When Cook told Feeney the news, his friend initially believed it was a joke. Once the reality sank in, the pair decided to take the lump-sum payout rather than the full jackpot spread over time.

After taxes, each of them received roughly the same multimillion-dollar amount. Cook retired from his job that same week, while Feeney, a former firefighter, had already been enjoying retirement.

While many lottery wins have been known to damage friendships or families, this story showed the opposite. A promise made with a handshake many years earlier was honored fully, turning a lifelong friendship into a shared fortune. 💰🤝