Most lottery winners spend years imagining what they’d do if their numbers finally came in.

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Very few spend nearly three decades preparing to split it with a mate.

Back in 1992, Wisconsin friends Thomas Cook and Joseph Feeney made a simple agreement between themselves. If either one of them ever won the Powerball jackpot, they’d divide the money equally.

No contracts. No lawyers. Just a handshake.

Almost 30 years later, that promise turned into reality after Cook bought the winning ticket for a staggering $22 million Powerball jackpot at a gas station in Menomonie.

And despite the life-changing amount sitting in front of him, he never hesitated.

“That happened many years ago,” Cook said of their promise, per NBC News. “A handshake’s a handshake, man.”

The winning moment itself barely felt real.

Cook, who lives in Elk Mound, revealed he was eating breakfast when he checked the ticket and immediately froze as the numbers started matching up.

“It was quite an experience. When I read the first two or three numbers, I kind of froze,” he said during an interview with the Wisconsin Lottery.

The shock quickly spread through the house.

Cook handed the ticket to his wife to double-check what he was seeing.

“She froze,” he said.

Once the reality finally sank in, there was one phone call he knew he had to make.

Feeney initially thought his friend was winding him up.

The pair had bought lottery tickets together every week for years, but like most people, they never genuinely expected to hit the jackpot.

Instead, it had simply become part of their routine — a long-running habit between two friends who clearly trusted each other enough to make a deal that lasted almost three decades.

That trust ended up being worth millions.

The two men chose the cash option, which came to around $16.7 million before taxes. After federal and state deductions, both Cook and Feeney are expected to take home roughly $5.7 million each.

Not bad for a handshake made in the early 90s.

Despite suddenly becoming multi-millionaires overnight, neither man appeared interested in blowing the money on extravagant purchases or flashy lifestyles.

Cook has since retired following the win, while Feeney had already retired from the fire department before the jackpot landed.

Instead of sports cars and mansions, both men said they simply want to spend more time with family and enjoy travelling.

Cook, who has grandchildren and great-grandchildren, said the win gives them the freedom to enjoy life on their own terms.

“We can pursue what we feel comfortable with,” he explained. “I can’t think of a better way to retire.”

The story quickly caught attention across the state not just because of the size of the prize, but because of the loyalty behind it.

Wisconsin Lottery Director Cindy Polzin praised the pair after the win was confirmed.

“The power of friendship and a handshake has paid off. I’m thrilled for them — their lucky day has arrived!”

The Menomonie gas station that sold the ticket also received a major bonus, collecting $100,000 for selling the winning numbers.

The jackpot marked Wisconsin’s first Powerball jackpot winner since March 2019, when a 24-year-old claimed a massive record-setting $768.4 million prize.

It also became the state’s 18th Powerball jackpot victory since Wisconsin introduced the game in 1992.

Given the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot sit at around one in 292 million, the chances of two friends becoming millionaires because of a decades-old handshake agreement feel even more unbelievable.

But for Cook and Feeney, the incredible part was never really the odds.

It was a promise made nearly 30 years earlier was still enough to guarantee the money would be shared the second those numbers came up.

Featured image credit: Wisconsin Lottery