MENOMONIE, WIS. -- A western Wisconsin man will share his millions in lottery winnings with a longtime friend because of a promise they made to each other nearly three decades ago.

Friends Tom Cook and Joseph Feeney shook hands in 1992 and promised that if either one of them ever won the Powerball jackpot, they would split the money. That promise came to fruition last month when Cook bought the winning ticket for a US$22 million jackpot at Synergy Coop in Menomonie.

The men chose the cash option of about $16.7 million, leaving each with nearly $5.7 million after taxes are paid.