Wooh News - April 2024

• Frogger

• Love Your School

• Scratch for Schools

• Idaho Cash Winner

• $1,000,000 Scratch Winner

• Wishful Thinking

Leaping back into stores this spring is one of the most popular Scratch GamesTM ever offered by the Idaho Lottery. Frogger will be leaping from the lily pads, across the roads, through the parking lots and into ticket dispensers in April.

Just like its predecessors, the Lottery version of the popular 1980’s arcade game plays true to the timeless arcade version, only without the joystick, arcade music, and sound effects. Of course, the trade-off is a game filled with prizes from $5 to the top prize of $50,000.

Players receive three frogs on each ticket, each hoping to dart across a busy, traffic filled street, navigate a treacherous river

filled with turtles and logs, and hop into the finish play area before meeting an untimely peril. Players who successfully get their frogs safely to the finish win that prize. Prizes can also be won during the frog’s journey to the finish area. If a player uncovers three identical symbols along all three paths, either a frog or coin symbol, players win that prize.

Additionally, the $10 Frogger super ticket will be re-launching at this time as well, with an option to win up to $100,000. The $10 Frogger game will be eligible for a $1,000 monthly 2nd chance drawing. See the website for more details.

Frogger, the Scratch Game, leaps back into stores in early April with all the fun and excitement of the classic arcade game, just be sure to tell players to use a lucky scratcher instead of a joystick to try and win cash prizes.

Newsletter

A thousand dollars can make a big difference for any Idaho school. That is why the Idaho Lottery created the Love Your School program, where players get to be the hero for the school!

Using the Lottery’s VIP Club, players use their points in a sweepstakes drawing where they nominate their favorite school. At the end of each month, the Lottery selects one school at random for the $1,000 award!

When it’s time to present the school with their winnings, the player is the hero and makes the presentation delivery with the Idaho Lottery!

That’s what happened for Trent Crawford at Lakeland Middle School in Rathdrum. He made the presentation to assistant principal Laura Spurway.

“My son attends the school and I really wanted to give something back for the positive experience he is having this year,” said Crawford.

“Wow! This is really impactful for us. We planned to use these resources to help all of our students with supplies

Director’s Corner

Dear Friends,

announce the Idaho Lottery has been selected as the WINNER for the Lottery category in the 2024 Convenience Store News Category Captains Awards.

We were recognized as the winner based on, among other things, product innovation; merchandising creativity; use of consumer insights that drive category sales; dynamic category management tools; and demonstrated commitment to meeting retailer customer needs.

We are grateful for you, our retail customers. This national recognition comes as we approach the Lottery’s 35th Anniversary in July. We share it with you since it wouldn’t be possible without such exceptional business partners.

Indeed, it has been a remarkable thirty-five years for the Idaho Lottery. In our first year, we launched 11 new Scratch Games and offered a single jackpot game: Super*Lotto America, Powerball’s predecessor. As the longest serving Idaho Lottery Director, the landscape of the Lottery is vastly different than when I arrived in 2007. That was the year the iPhone revolutionized communications and social media was in its infancy. At the Lottery, we only offered three draw games: Wild Card, Pick3, and Powerball that year. We now offer nine draw games, the annual $1,000,000 Raffle, InstaPlay games, over 50 Scratch Games on the market, and more.

SCRATCH FOR SCHOOLS IS ABOUT COMMUNITIES

At every Scratch for Schools event there is one indelible characteristic that stands out above the fierce competition to win and the schools claiming prizes. That characteristic is a strong sense of community.

One of the unique qualities of Scratch for Schools is bringing all of the schools in a region together for a common purpose: to support, enhance, and improve the quality of education in Idaho.

And that’s really at the heart of this year’s Scratch for Schools competition. More than 480 schools signed up to participate in one of 10 events held around the state this year. Schools came dressed in flamboyant pirate outfits, crazy hats, and generally showing their own school spirit. While scratching, they

Many schools this year managed to scratch all 200 tickets in a pack in five minutes. Others have turned attending Scratch for Schools into a weekend retreat. Still others enjoy the friendship of their fellow teachers from their own school as well as other schools in their community. In the end, everyone walks away a winner. This year, the average prize payout is over

The Idaho Lottery began in the summer of 1989 after an initiative vote of the citizens in 1988. Our first year of operations had $65 million in total sales and a dividend of $17,225,000. This year, we will nearly quintuple the dividend we returned in 1990.

As we begin our 35th Anniversary celebrations, we thank you for making our Do Good initiatives possible.

“HAPPY TO BE THE GUY!”

Here is a look at some of the fun from

Jason Heidemann, Boise, expressed true bewilderment when he won $97,100 on the game Idaho Cash. A regular Idaho Lottery player, Jason went to the Fred Meyer on Fairview in Meridian to check his tickets on his way to work.

“It’s not what you expect. This one is a $5 winner, this one wins a free ticket, this one says Congratulations, call the Lottery,” explained Jason on discovering he had won. “I knew the game had $200 prizes, but why would I have to call the Lottery? Did I win the jackpot?”

In fact, Jason had won the jackpot, however, he would not learn the amount of the jackpot until he claimed his winning ticket in the Lottery’s office one Monday morning.

“I looked up the draw results and saw that there was 1 jackpot winner. I’m

happy to be the guy who is the one!” said Jason. “I’m really happy with this.”

Jason does not have any immediate plans for the winnings other than to invest. “I don’t have any big trips, I’m not looking at any major purchases, I’m going to put it away in the bank,” added Jason.

LEWISTON SCRATCH FOR SCHOOLS

SANDPOINT SCRATCH FOR SCHOOLS

JASON HEIDEMANN WINS $97,100 ON IDAHO CASH!

MCCALL SCRATCH FOR SCHOOLS

BAD LUCK ON THE GOLF COURSE BRINGS

GOOD LUCK ON SCRATCH TICKET!

Idaho’s newest Instant Millionaire won his $1,000,000 Scratch Game prize after his luck went from bad luck on the greens to good luck with a lot of greenbacks.

An aspiring professional golfer, the winner had been recovering from a broken rib for about eight weeks when he tried to hit the links one Saturday in March. His injury, though, was not completely healed. In a lot of pain, he was forced to withdraw after only playing three holes. Upset, he decided to relax, watch golf on television, and play some Idaho Lottery Scratch tickets.

“I was really into watching golf and scratching the tickets, that I was not really paying a lot of attention to either one,” he explained.

Self-admittedly, he said he was also hyper-superstitious and really wanted to go back to the store where he had purchased the tickets to have them checked and maybe purchase more. Instead, though, he decided to go to the closest Maverik so he didn’ t have to drive so far, despite worrying he was going to ruin his luck.

The clerk at Maverik was scanning his tickets for him and announced first he had won $250. He was planning to buy more when the clerk said, “Oh my goodness, you won a big prize!”

He asked how much, and the clerk said, well probably at least $1,000. After looking over the ticket, he discovered he had won $1,000,000!

If he hadn’t hurt his rib, which prevented him from playing golf, he would have never bought the scratch tickets where he did and wouldn’t be a millionaire today.

“I am a man of big faith, and I have to think God played a part in this,” remarked our winner.

The $1,000,000 Instant Millionaire winning Scratch ticket was sold at Stinker on McMillan and Meridian roads in Meridian.

WISHFUL THINKING

Catherine Hicks and her husband have a daily tradition in Rupert. At the end of their day, she buys a couple of Idaho Lottery Scratch tickets and they both go down to the river to talk about the day. They tell each other about how everything went while she plays her tickets. One day in March she was playing a Monster

“I don’t usually play Monster Slingo. I usually buy two, $5 tickets. I hadn’t played Monster Slingo in a really long time, but I felt like I should play this time,” said Catherine. “Then when I saw all the numbers I had, I thought I’d either have $5000 or $100,000 as a winner.”

Catherine then gave the ticket to a clerk to check. “I told her I thought I’d won $100,000 and the clerk said to me ‘that’s wishful thinking’. But when the clerk scanned it, it said to bring it to the Lottery. “I was really hoping for the $100,000!”

CATHERINE HICKS AND HUSBAND WIN $100,000 ON MONSTER SLINGO

Her good luck paid off just in time. She and her husband were planning a move to Florida to be closer to her family and grandchildren. Although nervous about the alligators in the swamplands, she was excited about winning big on Monster Slingo.

“I’m going to pay off the car, pay off the debts and be able to really enjoy moving,” she said. “Thank you!”

Her winning ticket was sold at Smiths in Burley.