From a player who forgot about her HIT 5 ticket for months which wound up being worth $135K, to a full-time caregiver who purchased a Powerball ticket and won the ultimate good karma worth $50K, winner stories varied across the state in Q3
Olympia, Wash. (April 15, 2024) – Players across Washington become winners every day with Washington’s Lottery. In the last 365 days, the Lottery has awarded more than $554 million in prizes to more than 38 million winners across the state. The third quarter of FY24 alone (January-March 2024) saw 9,498,270 prizes claimed totaling $140,529,306.
Some of the winners from each region include:
- North Puget Sound
- A Seattle resident and full-time caregiver, who has worked seven days a week for the last two years, received the ultimate good karma when she won $50,000 after purchasing a few Powerball tickets. She plans to use her winnings to pay off her business, donate to animal welfare organizations, and send some money to her family in Mexico.
- K.L. from Everett has been playing Match 4 for years and has always played using numbers that are significant to her. One day, she was reminiscing on fond memories of her mother, so she decided to combine her birthday and her mother’s birthday for her weekly purchase of five Match 4 tickets. This inspiration would lead her to win the game’s top prize of $10,000 on all five of her tickets, totaling a $50,000 win.
- T.M., a retiree from Kirkland, stopped by her local convenience store after a long day to buy her weekly amount of Scratch tickets. One of these tickets turned out to be a $50,000 winner.
- On her way home from work, M.B., a mother and master electrician from Lynnwood, stopped at her neighborhood Fred Meyer to grab some groceries and decided to buy a HIT 5 ticket. A few months went by before she was reminded to check the ticket by her husband. It’s a good thing she did because that ticket wound up being worth $135,000.
- Andrea purchased a Loteria Scratch ticket that won her a $50,000 prize.
- D.S. from Edmonds won the $630,000 cashpot playing HIT 5.
- Eastern Washington
- Bill from Kennewick won $50,000 playing Loteria Scratch.
- Joel won $50,000 playing Jewel Crest Scratch and claimed his prize at the Tri-Cities Regional Office.
- Southwest Washington
- David from Vancouver won $20,000 after purchasing a Loteria Scratch ticket.
- Brenda purchased a Red Hot 5’s Doubler Scratch ticket and won $75,000.
Winning players have 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prize. Scratch ticket winners have 180 days from the last day of ticket sales to claim their prize. By law, prizes that aren’t claimed are placed into a reserve account. Each June, the surplus in this account is transferred to the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA), which funds college grants and scholarships, early childhood education, vocational excellence programs, charter schools, and other education programs across the state.
Washington’s Lottery has regional offices located in Everett, Federal Way, Olympia, Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver, which are open to the public to claim prizes Mon-Fri from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Winners with tickets for $100,000 or more are instructed to call the nearest Lottery office to schedule an appointment to make a safe and secure in-person claim.
Who Benefits
Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $5.3 billion to support several important state programs, including providing much-needed funds for the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA). In FY23, WOPA received $199.9 million from the Lottery. Of this, $139.1 million helped fund the Washington College Grant, a financial aid program that supported more than 29,000 college students and apprentices across the state last year. Another $2.5 million helped fund the College Bound program to help eligible students attain a college or training degree or credential.
Washington’s Lottery Beneficiary Fact
Washington’s Lottery is proud to be a financial supporter of the Washington Student Achievement Council, which administers state financial aid programs. WSAC leads a variety of initiatives to increase educational opportunities for students, families, and educators across the state, with a particular focus on increasing equity by reaching communities of color and students from low-income families. The $141.6 million investment made in FY23 by the Lottery helps fund the Washington College Grant and College Bound programs, in order to improve access to postsecondary attainment for students across Washington.
About Washington’s Lottery: The state’s Lottery offers consumers several types of games, including Mega Millions, Powerball, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, Pick 3, Cash POP, Daily Keno and Scratch. For more information, visit www.walottery.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @walottery.
Keep it fun. Know your limit. Washington’s Lottery is an advocate for responsible gaming and collaborates with the Evergreen Council for Problem Gambling to provide resources for those in need. More information is available at www.walottery.com/Responsibility.
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Press Contacts
Dan Miller (Curator on behalf of Washington’s Lottery)
E-mail: dan.miller@curatorpr.com
Xiamara Garza (Curator on behalf of Washington’s Lottery)
E-mail: xiamara.garza@curatorpr.com