A group of 11 co-workers in California were the winners of last month's $543 Mega Millions jackpot, the California Lottery announced Friday. Ranging in age from 21 to 60, the players had each pitched in $2 in a spur-of-the-moment office pool the day before the July 24 drawing. One of the workers, Ronald Reyes, claimed the prize on behalf of the group. The other winners were not identified, nor was the company where they work. They all apparently plan to keep working.

Photo by Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images staff

"We want to keep our jobs," Reyes said in a statement released by the California Lottery. "We love that company. We love what we've built there. We have a good time and want to stay together." The group has the option of taking the full amount over 30 years, or taking the lump-sum option of $320.5 million.

Make sure it's done right

While the win might inspire you to join a lottery pool at your own workplace, experts say to make sure you proceed with caution. "If you go in on an office pool, make sure it's done right," said Jason Kurland, a partner at Rivkin Radler, a law firm in Uniondale, New York. "People don't treat it like a transaction [potentially] worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but that's essentially what it is," said Kurland, who specializes in helping lottery winners.