VOL. 35 NO. 6
• $2,000,000 Winner
• Super TIcket Winner
• Doing Good in Lewiston
• 35th Anniversary Winner
• Lawrence and Schiller
• Coming Soon - Scratch
SANDPOINT PLAYER
WINS $2,000,000 ON POWERBALL
When the fuel pump on Nathan Wood’s truck started making strange noises last Monday he pulled into the nearest gas station, Arnie’s Payless Gas on Highway 200 in Kootenai to see what the trouble might be. Since he was already there, Wood purchased his regular Idaho Lottery tickets –two Powerball and two Mega Millions for last week’s draws on Monday and Tuesday nights.
A few days later, the Sandpoint resident found out he had won $2,000,000 when his wife heard the news that there was a big Powerball winner from Bonner County and checked their tickets.
“She told me we had matched all five of the white balls on Powerball,” described Wood on sharing the good news with his wife. “I couldn’t believe it. And then I went back to planting onions.”
All Idaho Powerball tickets include
numbers, but not the Powerball number, making his ticket a $2,000,000 winner.
Once his big win sunk in, Wood said he contacted his accountant and got all his paperwork together before making the trip to Boise to claim his prize. Wood plans to fix the fuel pump on his truck and then make solid decisions on investing his winnings for the future.
For selling the winning ticket, Arnie’s Payless Gas receives a commission from the Idaho Lottery for $25,000.
FROGGER SUPER TICKET “HITTS” THE ROAD
Jordyn Myers was not planning to buy a Frogger Super Ticket when she stopped for fuel and her daily Lottery Scratch ticket at the Hitt the Road store location at Ammon and Lincoln Roads roundabout in Idaho Falls.
“I was planning to just buy the one $5 Frogger ticket. The clerk suggested I buy a $10 Frogger Super Ticket that was in a different dispenser,” said Myers when she visited the Lottery Office in Boise.
That turned out to be a great up-sell and suggestion for Myers.
“I scratched the first frog and it won $100,000. I didn’t believe it. And I didn’t sleep,” said Myers. “I’ve got no reason to complain. I just won $100,000!”
Myers said she plans to buy herself a “mom” car for her and her family, then save the rest of her winnings.
Hitt the Road’s Northgate Mile store in Idaho Falls also sold a $100,000 winner just four days before Myers won. Brant Sorenson won his prize on the game Magic Mystery Box Cashword.
Director’s Corner
Dear Friends,
At press time, sunshine and warmth have come to Idaho. This year there are 35 community celebrations throughout the entire Gem State to commemorate the Idaho Lottery’s 35th Anniversary on July 19th. Your excellent customer service for players will yield another successful annual dividend. We’re celebrating three-and-a-half decades of fun, entertainment, winning prizes, and financial success for you and Idaho citizens which includes over $1.2 billion in dividends provided to the people of Idaho since 1989.
The Idaho Lottery was created by a vote of the people to benefit public schools and the State of Idaho’s permanent facilities. During the 2024 legislative session, how the Lottery dividends will be used was changed. Public education and permanent buildings are still the beneficiaries. Idaho Lottery dividends will continue benefiting public school district facilities and providing property tax relief for voter-approved bonds and levies. The Department of Education will continue to receive 5/8 of the Lottery dividend annually for this purpose. Every school district will receive financial support from the newly created School District Facilities Fund based on average daily attendance. If school districts do not have voter-approved bonds or levies, they will still receive funding for use on future school facilities or improvement projects.
The Idaho Lottery will continue funding the Department of Administration’s Division of Public Works and the Permanent Building Fund. They will receive 3/8 of the Lottery’s annual dividend. Please join us in celebrating our first 35 years and our next three-and-a-half decades in the years to come.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our good causes in Idaho. Happy Selling!
DO GOOD IN LEWISTON
The Idaho Lottery delivered one of the largest Classroom Wishlist awards of the year to Sacajawea Middle and Jenifer Middle Schools in Lewiston in late April. Both schools will share the award which includes codable robots, engineering kits, and two 3-D printers plus other supplies worth $6,132 for the two schools’ STEM programs.
Gifted program facilitators Theresa Duchemin and Cheyenne Gregg (Jenifer) worked together to submit a Classroom Wishlist. Both requested items that would benefit their students, as many of them are interested in the STEM field.
“Many of our students already show interest in various career fields of engineering,” said Theresa DuChemin,
Sacajawea’s Gifted and Talented program facilitator. “These tools will strengthen their passions and enhance their real-world skills to link middle and high school experiences with career pathways that will prepare them for their lives after graduation.”
When the Lottery arrived with the items, both were filled with emotions seeing their Wishlist delivered.
"We're really excited to have some new material and have the kids be so excited to get to use them and use them as much as they want and not have to wait for it, " Jenifer Middle School Gifted and Talented Facilitator Cheyenne Gregg said.
The new materials will be used in the new gifted program, offering students special topics they can work on with a facilitator throughout an entire school year.
35TH ANNIVERSAR Y $35,000 WINNER
Back in March, West Haven, Utah couple Allison Halling and her husband were visiting friends in the Magic Valley. According to the elementary school teacher, the couple stopped and picked up a couple of Idaho Lottery Scratch tickets, including the $5, 35th Anniversary Game. They quickly grabbed a handful on their way out of town.
“We hadn’t been winning for a while, so when we got home, we just put our tickets under a magnet on our fridge and didn’t play them for a while,” described Allison on the decision not to play for a while. “We didn’t want to jinx anything.”
According to the couple, they had $100 worth of tickets on the fridge. In mid-May, they finally decided to play. Allison split the tickets between her and her husband. He played and said he didn’t win anything.
Convinced their non-winning streak was still happening, Allison played her tickets. Turns out she had a little more success than her husband. Her 35th Anniversary ticket won $35,000!
Still skeptical, the couple returned to Idaho and visited the Lottery Office in Boise. When she scanned the ticket at Customer Service the machine returned the prize amount she hoped it would, $35,000, Allison exclaimed, “Oh! It worked!” with a big sigh of relief.
The couple’s winning ticket was purchased at the Traveler’s Oasis Truck Stop in Eden along I-84 just outside of Twin Falls.
TEACHER, ALLISON HALLING WINS $35,000
NEW AD FIRM TO HELM LOTTERY CREATIVE
The Idaho Lottery will begin the new fiscal year with new creative services marketing partners. The Idaho Lottery Commission unanimously accepted the recommendation from Idaho Lottery Director, Jeff Anderson, to proceed with a “Notice of Intent” to award a contract for Creative Services to the full-service creative firm of Lawrence & Schiller from Souix Falls, South Dakota.
“Good government requires the Idaho Lottery to be a good steward for the Gem State. The financial support generated by the Idaho Lottery for public education and the permanent buildings of Idaho is substantial,” said Anderson. “It’s only possible when we conduct ourselves with transparency as we contract for essential services that help us build successful business plans, as well as responsibly communicate our value proposition to customers, retailers, and citizens. The process of evaluating those who submitted proposals to us was thorough and we believe we’ve found great new business partners who understand our needs and will serve the people of Idaho.”
Lawrence & Schiller is the advertising agency of record for the South Dakota Lottery and feature award winning campaigns for tourism, education, health care, and business.
“The Idaho Lottery has responsibly conducted our business in the Gem State for 35 years. Financial support from the Lottery for public education and the permanent buildings of Idaho is substantial,” said Lottery Director Jeff Anderson. “We conduct our activities with transparency when contracting for essential services. That includes responsibly communicating our value proposition to customers, retailers, and citizens. The process of evaluating the seven interested parties who submitted proposals to us was thorough and proper. Lawrence & Schiller has been the award-winning and results-driven agency of record for our colleagues in South Dakota for many years. They understand our needs and I’m confident their team will serve the people of Idaho with distinction.”
The new contract is set to begin on July 1, 2024 with the Idaho Lottery’s Multiplier Family Scratch Games being their first campaign.
