Winner plans to continue helping local animal rescue shelters with her winnings
Olympia, Wash. (January 18, 2024) – While stopping at a nearby Fred Meyer to grab groceries, one Snohomish woman was drawn to the growing Powerball jackpot at the time. Rather than buy her usual games of choice, HIT 5 and Lotto, she went to the Lottery Vending Machine (LVM) and purchased a Powerball ticket, thinking to herself, “Why not? Maybe this will be it.”
It wasn’t until a few days later that she remembered to check her ticket at an LVM at another nearby retailer. When she scanned it, the most unexpected words appeared on the screen: “see Lottery regional office,” which meant she had won a prize larger than the retailer could pay out. In a daze, the woman rushed to her car to call her partner so that they could double check the numbers online. When she and her partner did, neither could believe that her single ticket purchase, which only cost her $2, ended up winning her the game’s third-tier prize, $50,000.
The Snohomish woman plans to use her winnings to continue helping local animal rescue shelters and will also set some money aside for her next family vacation.
Powerball is a national lottery game. Each play is $2. Players pick five numbers between one and 69 and one Powerball number between one and 26. Alternatively, players may use Quick Pick by letting the computer select their numbers. With nine winning ball combinations, the more numbers that match those drawn, the more a player will win.
Making a Difference in Washington State
Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $5.0 billion to support several important state programs, including providing much-needed funds for the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA). In FY22, WOPA received $176.6 million from the Lottery, enough to pay college tuition for more than 9,900 Washington residents. It also provided approximately 25% of the annual budget for the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, which provides critical services to more than 15,000 children at 440 locations across Washington.
Washington’s Lottery Beneficiary Fact
Washington’s Lottery is very proud to be a financial supporter of the state’s Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program (ECEAP). The $40 million annual investment the lottery makes in ECEAP has lasting effects. Children who participate in ECEAP are more likely to be kindergarten-ready than non-participants, and those who participate five or more hours per day are especially prepared in reading and math.* Children in state-funded pre-K programs like ECEAP see long-lasting positive effects, including increased grade progression, high school graduation and college enrollment.**
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
* Early Learning Feedback Report. https://erdc.wa.gov/data-dashboards/early-learning-feedback-report-0
** Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood. (n.d.). Boston universal pre-K. Retrieved June 9, 2021, from https://www.bpsearlylearning.org/boston-upk