A Ruby Red Birthday
Tucson and Nogales – Where Luck Abounds
Happy Anniversary, Dear!
Where the Money Goes Trip Giveaways
Maria’s Silver Spectacular Win
The Last Wild 10’s
Money Won’t Change Him
Arizona Is A Great Place To Live
Emerald Green – The Color of Money
A Crossword Lovers Dream Ticket
And Yet Another Tucson Winner
First Jubilee Scratchers Winner
$2.5 Million The Pick Jackpot
One-Half of $94 Million Powerball Jackpot Won in A
Seven is Her Lucky Number
How Lottery Revenues Benefit Your Community
Finally, the Jackpot
Power Play Option, Please
Congratulations $250,000 Jubilee Semi-Finalists
Impulse Scratchers Purchase Worth $50,000
It Only Took One Ticket
Tucson Resident Wins $250,000 Jackpot
A Tale of Two Friends
WINNING POWERBALL TICKET SOLD IN ARIZONA
And the Power-Play Number Was Five
It’s Your Ticket
Just in Time for Gift Giving
Twenty-Five Years -- Same Numbers
Lottery Introduces New Pick ‘Family of Games’
Powerball Power Play 10X
A Big Win Becomes Even Bigger
“I’m Going to Disneyland”
Starting Over
A Timely Gift
Congratulations $250,000 Jubilee Semi-Finalists
FLAGSTAFF COUPLE WINS $13.5 MILLION THE PICK
Peoria Resident Wins $250,000 Jubilee Prize
I’m Not Coming to Work Today
$200,000 Instantly Turns Into $600,000
A Family Celebration
Lunch Break Worth $200,000
Crown Jewel Reigns Supreme
A Crossword Lover’s Dream
We Hit the Big One
Arizona Snags Eight $200,000 Powerball Winners
Both Jackpot Winners of the Millionaire Raffle Ste
All for One and One for All
Power Play 10X is Back!
A Million Dollar Chance for Mother’s Day
A Ruby Red Birthday
Curtis Mitchell had a great birthday celebration. It began when his grandmother bought him an assortment of Arizona Lottery Scratchers tickets in honor of his turning 21 on May 31, 2006. Little did she know that the More Ruby Red 7’s Scratchers ticket she bought him was worth $77,777.
Curtis was at home with his family when he scratched the ticket and first had a hard time believing the ticket was really a winner. He checked the ticket a number of times to be sure he hadn’t made a mistake. When he finally realized it really was a $77,777 winner, his first thought was “no more college bills.” His family was probably thinking the same thing.
This was the first time Curtis had played an Arizona Lottery Scratchers ticket. His grandmother purchased him a wide assortment of tickets for part of his birthday gift, including Crossword. Being an English major in his senior year at the university, the Crossword Scratchers tickets were the ones that interested him the most – next to his winning More Ruby Red 7’s, of course.
When he has any spare time, and being a full-time student makes that difficult, Curtis enjoys spending time researching his favorite collectibles – rare video games and rare books.
Talk about a small world! The week following the interview, the winner liaison for the Arizona Lottery was having dinner at a Peoria restaurant when a man said, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” He certainly did. The gentleman was Curtis’ father and had accompanied him to the Arizona Lottery office. Also in the restaurant was Curtis’ grandmother. When congratulated upon her excellent ticket choice, she jokingly said, “I should have taken it back.” Don’t worry Curtis, she really was only kidding.
The Arizona Lottery wishes Curtis continued success in school and is glad this win came at an opportune time.
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Tucson and Nogales – Where Luck Abounds
Arizona had three $200,000 Powerball winners during the month of September – two in Tucson and one in Nogales.
The $200,000 winning Powerball ticket from the drawing of Sept. 13, 2006, was purchased at Mazon’s Food Market, 39 N. Grand in Nogales. This “lucky” retailer was Retailer of the Month in June of this year. The store is always busy, but always makes time to help its very loyal customers, and there are many. If you’re ever in the Nogales area, be sure to stop by. One of the Montiel’s or any member of their friendly staff will be glad to assist you.
The second winning $200,000 Powerball ticket from the drawing of Sept. 20, 2006, was purchased at the Ajo Chevron, 1285 W. Ajo Way in Tucson. This “lucky” retailer is always ready to assist you in your gas, food or Arizona Lottery ticket purchase. The store has a good assortment of Scratchers, Powerball, The Pick, Fantasy 5 and Pick 3 tickets.
The third winning $200,000 Powerball ticket from the drawing of Sept. 23, 2006, was purchased at the Bashas’ Supermarket, 2000 W. River Rd., in Tucson. This is a full-service retailer for all of your shopping needs, including Arizona Lottery tickets. Don’t forget to ask for the Power Play option and optimize your Powerball winnings.
All three of these “lucky” retailers qualified for the retailer incentive for selling these winning Powerball tickets. Tucson and Nogales got the drop on Phoenix for the month of September by snaring all three $200,000 Powerball winners. If you live in the Tucson area, don’t forget to try your luck at one of these lucky stores.
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Happy Anniversary, Dear!
Donald Hand had his winning $200,000 Powerball ticket in his overnight bag, which was in the trunk of his car. Of course, at the time, he had no idea what it was worth. His wife waited patiently in the car while he went inside to check his tickets.
There was a line of about five people waiting behind Donald while three clerks tried to find out what he’d won. When they finally figured it out and told him, everyone standing behind him in line cheered. Most players are usually happy when they hear about another person winning, as it gives them hope that “they can win too.”
Donald then went out to his car, told his wife he was giving her an early anniversary present and handed her the ticket and the claim form. She went into shock when he told her the amount of the ticket. The only other people they’ve told are immediate family and a very few “good, close friends.”
Since Donald works long hours as a general contractor, he really doesn’t have much spare time. However, when he does, he enjoys spending time with his family.
Donald has only been playing the Powerball for a few years and is going to consider playing the Power Play in the future. Having played the Lottery for a few years, he’s had some small wins, but never really expected to win anything like this one. As of now, he and his wife are planning on investing the winnings for their grandchildren’s college fund.
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Phoenix Couple First Lucky Winners of “Go Where the Money Goes” Free Trips
We Mark Our 25TH Anniversary with Trip-Giveaway Contest
To showcase how the Arizona Lottery has contributed nearly $2 billion to the state of Arizona since its inception in 1981, a big part of our 25th Anniversary Celebration is the “Go Where the Money Goes” contest. The contest, which offers an opportunity for people to visit wildly popular destinations across the state, is underway and will churn out monthly trip packages over the next year, including an overnight stay and a fun local activity courtesy of sponsors across the state.
“Go Where the Money Goes” participants can win one of 12 packaged trip giveaways to Sedona, Flagstaff and Lake Havasu, just to name a few. The trips can be redeemed up to six months after winning, so that the winner can easily plan in advance.
The Lottery is thrilled to announce the contest’s first winner, Martha C. Dlugos, Phoenix, who won the August trip to Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa. Deemed one of the most beautiful places in the world, Sedona boasts towering red rock formations, quiet creek-side escapes and unique art galleries that are the envy of the world’s top vacation destinations. The trip also includes a ride aboard the famous Sedona Trolley for a two-hour scenic tour across the city, stopping at local art galleries, a renowned chapel, and mystic canyons. A coupon book for Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village merchants is included in the package, offering generous discounts to some of the city’s best galleries, restaurants and shops.
“My husband, John, and I have not had a vacation by ourselves in a quite awhile,” Martha said. “So we are really looking forward to this trip!”
Martha said she and her husband are regular Lottery players. “I spend two dollars a week to play Fantasy 5 and Pick 3,” she said. “When I found out about this new contest, I thought, ‘What the heck, we could really use a fun trip.’”
“I love Arizona – you don’t have to shovel sunshine here,” said Martha, who moved here from Ohio. “My husband and I play the Lottery because not only is it fun, but it gives money back to the state to make Arizona a better place to live.”
The contest trip give-aways will take winners to every corner of the state. One trip is to the X Diamond Ranch, just outside of Greer. It beckons city-dwellers and others who want a retreat from their bustling, busy lives. The winner will enjoy a one-night stay at one of the ranch’s six cabins, all the while taking in the breathtaking views of the surrounding Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Another trip is to the historic Hassayampa Inn on Gurley Street in Prescott where they can also take a trip on the “wild side” with admission for four to nearby Heritage Park Zoo, home to 150 native and exotic animals. And of course, there are many more.
The contest is easy to enter. Simply go to the “Where the Money Goes” link for contest details and entry form (hint: It is in the Gold Mine, and on the home page). Participants must be 21 years of age. Drawings for the monthly trips are on the last Friday of each month.
The Lottery makes Arizona a better place to live and visit by funding community programs and public projects that otherwise might not exist. Every year, the Arizona Lottery supports countless endeavors that are made possible through the sale of lottery tickets. Last year alone, the Arizona Lottery contributed over $141 million in net profits to the state, the highest amount in its history.
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Maria’s Silver Spectacular Win
Maria Luisa Munoz enjoys playing the Arizona Lottery’s Silver Spectacular Scratchers ticket because she’s had several smaller wins on it and she feels it is lucky for her. She also feels it has a better payout.
When Maria scratched off her Silver Spectacular, she was sitting in her car in the store’s parking lot. At first she thought it was a $10 win; then she started counting zeroes and realized that it was a $100,000 winning ticket. Maria says she was in shock, but managed to drive home safely.
As soon as she arrived home, Maria called her daughter who was visiting in Los Angeles – who couldn’t quite believe it had happened to her mom. After her daughter returned to Phoenix, they took the ticket to the store to be scanned, just to be sure. Another daughter jokingly asked, “What are you going to buy me?” Everyone in the family is thrilled for Maria.
Maria, who works as a housekeeper, enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and when she has time enjoys working in her yard.
She buys Scratchers once a week when she does her shopping, but only occasionally buys the $10 tickets. With regard to her winnings, Maria plans to fix some things in the house that she’s been putting off and save the rest for a rainy day.
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The Last Wild 10’s
When Teresa Treptow purchased the last Wild 10’s Scratchers ticket in the bin, she had no idea that in her hand was the last $100,000 winner for the game.
Of course, timing is everything. When Teresa got to the counter at the store to make her purchase, another woman got there at the same time. Teresa let her go ahead of her. The woman bought a number of Scratchers tickets, including Wild 10’s. When it was her turn, Teresa only bought one ticket – a Wild 10’s.
When she got home at about 1 a.m., Teresa scratched the ticket. When she finished scratching the ticket, she was so excited she called her best friend and her fiancée. Neither of them believed the ticket was a winner; they both thought she had to have more numbers. Needless to say, Teresa didn’t sleep much that night. She had to wait until the Lottery office opened in the morning on May 15, to bring in her winning ticket – and she was right – it was definitely a $100,000 winner. The next time she says she has a winning ticket, her fiancée and best friend won’t doubt what she says.
Most of Teresa’s previous wins have been small ones. Although this win is not enough for her to quit her job as a front-end supervisor for cashiers in a large retail store, it will certainly make life a little easier.
Teresa, who considers herself to be a computer nerd, loves to travel, shoot pool and play darts. She plans to pay some bills with her winnings and probably invest the rest.
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Money Won’t Change Him
Refugio Gomez knew he had a winning ticket, but neither he nor the store clerk that scanned the ticket realized how much it was worth. It wasn’t until he came to the Arizona Lottery office that he discovered his winning Powerball ticket was worth $200,000.
Although he was surprised at the amount he had won, Refugio was extremely calm and said “money will not change me.” At the time of this interview, he had not told anyone, but did have plans to tell his son and surprise him with a special cash gift. Refugio, a self-employed handyman, will use a small portion of his winnings to go on a trip to Calexico to visit his family. The trip to see his family had already been planned, but his Lottery win just makes it easier.
In his spare time, Refugio enjoys repairing cars and one of his long-time dreams has been to have a place away from home to do so. Now, it appears that dream might become a reality. But for now, the rest of his winnings will be put in the bank.
Refugio purchases tickets at different stores – depending where he stops for gas or goes shopping. He’s played the Lottery for years, purchasing both The Pick and Powerball. Although he has always been happy with what he has, he knew that someday, he would be a winner. Refugio’s dream has come true, so next time you purchase your Powerball ticket, remember, you could be the next winner.
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Arizona Is A Great Place To Live
Thomas Lefebvre and his wife Elaine were looking forward to moving from “back East” to Arizona when they retired -- they loved the climate. And now that they’ve moved here, they have another excellent reason to be excited about our state – Thomas’ winning $200,000 Powerball ticket from the May 3 draw.
Thomas chose his own numbers, using numbers that had family significance. He didn’t check his ticket until the morning of May 5 when he went online to visit the Lottery website; then he couldn’t believe his eyes. He woke up his wife to show her the ticket and tell her what it was worth. She was extremely calm – he was the one that couldn’t stop shaking. It’s been a great few weeks. Just one week earlier, they had come to the Lottery office to cash in Elaine’s $777 winning Scratchers ticket.
Most of their wins have been small ones, such as $2 to $3, until the winning Scratchers ticket the week earlier and then, of course, their winning second place Powerball ticket. As of this interview, they had not told anyone and have no plans to tell the family back home. Thomas plans to put the money in the bank and said, “This win will make retirement easier; it will give us discretionary income.”
The Arizona Lottery wishes The Lefebvre’s a long and happy retirement.
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Emerald Green – The Color of Money
Phyllis Dotson loves to play the Arizona Lottery Scratchers tickets and one of her favorites is More Emerald Green 7s because she’s had a number of small wins on them.
Phyllis completed her grocery shopping and, while at the store, purchased some More Emerald Green 7s Scratchers, then cashed in her winning tickets for five additional More Emerald Green 7s tickets. Then she put them in her purse and went out to her truck.
While sitting in her truck in the parking lot, she scratched the first three tickets-- they didn’t pay anything. On the fourth one she won $5 and the fifth one was worth $77,777. When she saw how much the fifth ticket was worth, she started to shake. She sat there for a few minutes then drove to another store where she knew the personnel and had them scan it. They made sure she signed it right away; then she drove home, unloaded her groceries and drove to work.
Phyllis works six and a half days a week as a monitor on a school bus. At work, she told her close friend and coworker what she’d won and her friend drove her to the Lottery office so she wouldn’t have to go by herself.
Phyllis has been fortunate in that she’s had a number of smaller wins. She won $500 on Fantasy 5, and a number of $10 and $50 prizes on various Scratchers tickets. Besides her favorite Scratchers, Phyllis also plays Powerball, The Pick, Fantasy 5 and Pick 3.
Phyllis plans to put her winnings in her savings account until she knows how she’s going to invest it.
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A Crossword Lover’s Dream Ticket
Cindy Owens loves crossword puzzles, so when she was at the store she looked at the different Scratchers tickets and told the clerk, “Give me a $5 Crossword.”
Cindy went home and immediately scratched the ticket. She looked at it and didn’t believe what she saw, so she checked it three more times. Then she had her sister check it several times. Actually everyone in the family checked the ticket, including her husband, who said “It’s fake, it can’t be real.” Finally Cindy decided to take the ticket to the store to be scanned and be absolutely sure.
Once it was ascertained that the ticket was indeed a winner, although the clerk couldn’t tell Cindy the amount, her husband had her sign the back of the ticket immediately. Maybe the clerk didn’t know the value of the ticket, but by this time Cindy and her husband knew the ticket was worth $50,000. And then her husband’s next comment was, “Will you buy me a new truck?” Everyone in Cindy’s family is excited about her win; except Cindy -- she’s the only calm one.
Cindy usually purchases Crossword and Bingo tickets about once a month and wins a lot of small prizes which she redeems for more tickets. She purchases The Pick and Powerball tickets only occasionally.
Since Cindy’s job as a social worker takes up a lot of her time, her spare time is limited. She enjoys spending time with her granddaughter, and when she can find time, she loves thrift store and yard-sale shopping.
With regard to her husband’s request for “a new truck” – it’s being taken under advisement. Cindy plans to share her win with her family.
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And Yet Another Tucson Winner
Tucson and Nogales snagged all three of Arizona’s $200,000 Powerball winners for the month of September 2006. Reynaldo Arenas was the lucky purchaser of one of those tickets.
Reynaldo purchases two to three Quick Picks for The Pick and the Powerball on a regular basis. As usual, he and his wife watched the draw on television. He then checked his numbers, and his first reaction was, “I was disappointed. I didn’t win the jackpot – I was so close.” Of course, a few minutes later his reaction was completely different -- he was elated when he realized how fortunate he and his wife were to have won $200,000. Neither one of them can believe that it really happened to them – it’s like a dream.
Reynaldo and his wife have three children and are expecting a fourth. Since they have been looking to purchase a home, the timing of this win couldn’t be better. The couple also plans to pay off their car and invest some money in CDs for their children.
Needing a hiatus from his job as a cook in a hospital, Reynaldo is currently working in the freight department for a retail store. However, he’s now ready to once again don his cook’s hat and return to the kitchen.
When he has “spare” time, Reynaldo loves to watch all kinds of sports and enjoys playing basketball with his kids.
The Arizona Lottery is pleased that Reynaldo’s win came at a good time for him and wishes him continued good luck.
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First Winner of New $250,000 Jubilee Scratchers Ticket Comes Forward
Ticket launched July 3 in time for Arizona Lottery’s 25th Anniversary
Just two days after the Arizona Lottery’s special 25th Anniversary $250,000 Jubilee Scratchers ticket was launched, the first $25,000 winner came forward to claim his prize.
On July 5, Mesa resident Thomas Torrez claimed the $25,000 prize for matching one of the 20 scratch-off boxes with one of the six “Winning Numbers” on the ticket. A dollar amount from $10 to $250,000 is included in each of the 20 boxes. Players have roughly a one in 120,000 chance of winning $25,000.
Torrez purchased his winning ticket at Albertson’s, 441 N. Val Vista Dr., Mesa.
The $250,000 Jubilee ticket offers players a chance to win more than $33 million in cash prizes. The $10 ticket also features more than 50,000 prizes between $100 and $2,500, 10 prizes of $250,000, and $800,000 in second-chance drawings if a player scratches off a box with “Gold Mine” underneath.
“We really wanted to go all out to mark our silver anniversary,” said Art Macias, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. “This ticket offers the highest top prize in the history of our Scratchers games and, with all the other prizes, we believe it will be extremely popular with our players.”
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$2.5 Million The Pick Jackpot In Stack of Unchecked Tickets
Robert Casillas doesn’t check his tickets right away; in fact, he usually waits until he has a stack of about 30 or 40 before he goes to a store to have them scanned. His winning Quick Pick ticket from The Pick drawing on March 15 was no exception. He didn’t check it until Saturday, July 1.
This winning jackpot ticket was just one of over 30 tickets Robert took to the store to be scanned. The clerk returned the ticket to him with a slip explaining that the store couldn’t cash it because it was more money than they were allowed to pay out and that he would have to go to the Arizona Lottery office. No one knew the amount, but his wife, Carmen knew that the store could only cash tickets for around $500, so she thought it was probably worth about $600.
When they got home, Robert immediately went online to the Lottery website and checked the numbers on his ticket and “…was convinced it was a jackpot and it was for real.” However, his wife, Carmen, didn’t really believe it was a jackpot as most of their previous wins had ranged from $2 to $50, and told him “Don’t get your hopes up.”
Robert and Carmen came to the Lottery office on July 5 and turned in their ticket. They were greeted by everyone at the Claims Window with, “We’ve been wondering where you were.” The lucky couple elected to take the cash option with a cash value of $1,579,384.70 before taxes. Once the reality of their win sunk in, they were both in a state of shock.
The Casillas’ have four children – three of them are full-time college students, as well as holding down full-time jobs and the oldest is working full-time. As of the time of this interview, Robert and Carmen had not yet had time to tell them the exciting news.
Robert is a retired land surveyor and Carmen works as an electrical technician at a manufacturing plant. They both enjoy spending time with their family, especially their grandson. When asked what plans they have for their winnings, they both said, “We plan to invest it for ourselves and our family’s future.’
The Arizona Lottery wishes the Casillas family good health and continued good fortune.
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One-Half of $94 Million Powerball Jackpot Won in Arizona
9 Arizona-area residents win big pool
Cheers and shouts filled the lobby of the Arizona Lottery Thursday morning as the terminal rang out “We’re in the Money,” signaling the validation of the winning Powerball jackpot.
“That’s when we knew it was really real,” said Tanya Poirier, one of the “Arizona 9,” a group of seven co-workers and two spouses who shared one-half of a $94.1 million Powerball jackpot for the Wednesday, Nov. 1, drawing. Their half of the jackpot came to $47,050,000.
Arizona Lottery Executive Director Art Macias said he was “thrilled” about an Arizona winner. “The last time we had a jackpot winner was in December 2004 and, although we have had 68 second-place winning tickets since then, we think we’re due for another big jackpot. And this being our 25th Anniversary, the timing couldn’t be better for these winners and Arizona communities!”
Tanya, who buys the tickets, said she brought the “pool tradition” from a former job to the local architectural firm for which the group works. They have been playing for a little over a year but typically only when the jackpot hits the $100 million mark.
“We’re tickled pink that we played early this year,” she said.
The “Arizona 9” are Tanya and Steve Poirier, Mark Kristen, Dawn and Mitchell Levy, Jinia Sarkar, Eve Kalliokoski, all of Phoenix; Andrew Schuh, Queen Creek; and Scott Alack, Tempe.
They discovered they had won when a co-worker checked the winning numbers on the web, printed them and took them to Tanya. Tanya checked and double-checked to confirm the numbers. They notified the other co-workers who also notified their spouses. “Neither spouse believed them; they thought it was joke,” she said.
Everybody was still a bit skeptical until they came to the Lottery to claim their prize.
Asked if the group would continue to play, Tanya said, “Oh Yeah! We had winners on other tickets and just rolled them over for the next drawing.”
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Seven is Her Lucky Number
Ginger Robinson was at the store when the color of the 7 Times Lucky Scratchers ticket caught her eye. Once she decides on a ticket, she usually purchases four (all of them being the same kind), and this day was no exception.
After she scratched all four of her tickets, Ginger thought one of them looked like a winner, but wasn’t really sure (the “it always happens to someone else” syndrome). She kept reading the play instructions to be sure she was playing the game correctly and even had her sister check the ticket. As a final check before she came to the Lottery office, Ginger took the ticket to the store and had the clerk scan the ticket. When she finally realized the ticket was a winner, she was so thrilled that she jumped up and down in excitement, and only then did she come down to the Lottery office.
Ginger has never won more $50 to $100 on Scratchers, with a lot of small ones in between, but she more than made up for it with this win. In addition to playing Scratchers, she also plays The Pick and Powerball.
Ginger, who works in the field of education as an administrative assistant, enjoys spending time with her family, reading, going to movies, and the occasional shopping spree. When asked if she had any special plans for her winnings, she said she was “considering visiting a long-time friend in Oregon whom I haven’t seen in years.”
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Want to Know How Lottery Revenues Benefit Your Community?
Visit New Where the Money Goes Section
Just like the Gold Mine, the Arizona Lottery’s Where the Money Goes section contains a wealth of information – but of a different kind.
If you’ve ever wondered where Lottery revenues go and how they benefit communities across the state, visit our new and highly improved Where the Money Goes section.
Our searchable database dates back to 1998 and contains information, provided by beneficiaries, about the many ways in which cities and towns across the state use their Lottery funds.
We’ve included descriptions of each of the Lottery’s statutory beneficiaries – what they are, what they do, who they serve.
We’ve also included a number of ways to search:
- By City: find out the many ways your town or city has used Lottery revenues
- By County: see all the projects funded with Lottery dollars in your county
- By Category: 10 different categories of projects/programs funded in part by Lottery dollars – arts and humanities, recreation, endangered species, to name a few.
When possible, we’ve included a photograph of the project. We will be adding photos and information to the database on a regular basis – so keep coming back to see how your Lottery dollars are working for you.
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Finally, the Jackpot
Salvatore Fianaca always remembers to purchase his Quick Pick Fantasy 5 Lottery ticket. The drawing of July 20, 2006 was no exception – except for the fact that this time he won the jackpot.
Salvatore has won $500 three times on Fantasy 5, but this is his first $50,000 win. As he usually does, he checked his numbers in the newspaper. When he saw that his numbers matched the numbers in the paper, he immediately called the Lottery hot line to make sure he hadn’t made a mistake. It took a while for the realization that he had hit the jackpot to sink in. When he finally realized it was true, he went and told his wife, but asked her to recheck the numbers to make sure it was a winner. Everyone in the family, including Salvatore, was sure. Later, he asked his wife’s sister to check the numbers, but didn’t tell her how much he thought he had won. She was “shocked” to discover the ticket was a big winner.
When asked about his plans for his winnings, Salvatore replied, “I’m going to share some with my family.” He didn’t say what he was going to do with the rest.
Fantasy 5 is not the only Lottery game that Salvatore plays. He also plays The Pick, Powerball and Pick 3. Most of these wins have been small, except for a $500 win with a Pick 3 ticket.
When he’s not working with his son managing a restaurant, Salvatore enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also manages to find time to take care of his car – and he readily admits to being a fanatic about it.
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Power Play Option, Please
Jesus Contreras won’t buy a Powerball ticket without Power Play. That decision boosted his winning $200,000 Quick Pick Powerball ticket to a grand total of $800,012 from the July 29, 2006 drawing.
As usual, Jesus checked the newspaper for the numbers. Then he rechecked his ticket several times to make sure he hadn’t made a mistake. The next thing he did was call his family and tell them he had five numbers, but he told them, “don’t get excited,” as he wasn’t sure of the amount. After having the ticket scanned at a store, Jesus and his family came to the Arizona Lottery office, and that’s where they found out the exact amount of the ticket.
Jesus has been purchasing Lottery tickets for a long time. He won $1,700 years ago when The Pick was called Lotto, $500 on Fantasy 5, $800 on Pick 3 and a lot of small ones in between.
Jesus, who retired after 40 years working as a copper miner, plans to use some of his winnings to pay some bills and pay off the mortgage on his home. He also plans to make a contribution to the St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis. He plans to invest the remainder of his winnings.
It appears that Jesus has really thought out how he’s going to use his winnings. The Arizona Lottery is pleased to have played a part in helping him realize his dreams.
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Congratulations $250,000 Jubilee Semi-Finalists
The results of the first $250,000 Jubilee drawing, conducted on Monday, Dec. 4, are in!
The Arizona Lottery is excited to announce that semi-finalists are:
- BJ Lebaron, Mesa;
- Leandre Oliver, Maricopa;
- Edward Montoya Sr., Scottsdale;
- Preston Haslam, Glendale;
- Hoang Nguyen, Gilbert;
- Steve Brown, Tucson;
- Justin Prettyman, Queen Creek;
- Cheral Marble, Tucson;
- Jackie Barker, Tucson; and
- Shirley Buckley, Lake Havasu City.
Congratulations to all of you!
Each semi-finalist will have a chance to win $250,000 at the live drawing during the “Westgate Rocks New Years Eve” event at the Westgate City Center in Glendale. One semi-finalist will win the grand prize of $250,000, six semi-finalists will win $25,000, and three semi-finalists will win a gift bag with merchandise from the Arizona Lottery and the vendors at Westgate City Center. The Arizona Lottery will be giving away a total of $400,000 to the semi-finalists so come on out to Westgate City Center on New Year’s Eve and help cheer on the semi-finalists.
On December 31, 2006 “Westgate Rocks New Years Eve” will launch the official New Years Eve celebration for the West Valley. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers will headline the celebration featuring a Fireworks Display at midnight, 40’ Video Jumbotron, DJ’s, and a Dance Club. For more information on this event, please visit www.westgateaz.com.
What a great way to ring in the New Year!
The next $250,000 Jubilee drawing event will be held during the summer of 2007.
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Valerie Huskey normally purchases her favorite Scratchers ticket, the $2.00 Crossword, on a regular basis. On sheer impulse one day, she decided to purchase the $5 Special Edition Crossword. This was the very first time she had purchased the $5 Scratchers ticket – and is she glad she did.
After making her purchase, Valerie went out to her car to scratch the new ticket. When she was finished, her immediate thought was that she had a winner, but was really hesitant about believing the amount, as she didn’t want to have her hopes dashed. She went back into the store and had the ticket scanned. The clerk told her she couldn’t cash her ticket, but gave her a claim form and informed her that she would have to go to the Lottery office to claim her winnings. By that time, she knew she was $50,000 richer and immediately told her family, who couldn’t help but be thrilled for her.
When asked about her plans for her winnings, Valerie said, “I plan to pay off all my bills and purchase a used-pickup truck. The remainder will go into savings. She’s still having trouble believing it really happened, as her previous wins have been small ones. Except for winning $34 on Lotto several years ago and $50 on a Scratchers ticket, everything else has been under $20.
Valerie, a retired restaurant manager, takes care of her grandchildren and enjoys refinishing furniture in her spare time.
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It Only Took One Ticket
Deborah Wheelock bought one Quick Pick ticket for The Pick for the draw of Sept. 9, 2006. After the draw, she had it scanned prior to leaving on her vacation. She knew she had a winner, but didn’t know the amount, thinking perhaps it was worth around $50.
Upon her return, Deborah came to the Arizona Lottery office to cash in her ticket. When the customer service representative scanned it, she told Deborah it was a jackpot. Evidently, it was busy that day and the lobby was noisy. All Deborah knew was that she had won a sizable sum of money, but not the exact amount – the word “jackpot” hadn’t registered. She then thought it might be around $50,000, but didn’t ask. She got on her cell phone and immediately called her husband. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reach him and had to leave two messages saying, “It’s urgent, get back to me as soon as possible.” When her husband called back, she told him to meet her at the Arizona Lottery office as she had won a sizeable amount of money. In retrospect, Deborah was glad she didn’t know the amount as she didn’t want to tell her husband while he was driving. She told him to “drive carefully and just get down to the office.”
When Deborah’s husband, Jeffrey, arrived, they were seated at a table with the Arizona Lottery’s Winner Liaison to begin the paperwork. They were told they had 60 days to decide how they wanted to take their winnings. Since they both looked puzzled, the liaison asked them if they knew how much they had won. They both said no. Then they were informed that they had won the jackpot of $1 million. Needless to day, they both were stunned.
Right then and there, Jeffrey used his cell phone to call their accountant to discuss their options and help them decide what they should do. They decided on the cash option, which was $574,712.60 before taxes.
The couple, who have been married for over 25 years and have grown children, plan to invest the majority of their winnings for their retirement. However, for the last several months, Deborah has been looking to purchase a used Hummer, so that might soon become a reality.
This winning Quick Pick ticket reinforces the statement, “it only takes one.” The Arizona Lottery wishes the Wheelock’s continued good luck and success.
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Tucson Resident Wins $250,000 Jackpot at Live Arizona Lottery Drawing on New Year’s Eve
Six runners-up receive $25,000 each at live drawing at Westgate City Center
In front of a crowd of thousands of spectators at the West Valley’s New Year’s Eve celebration at Westgate City Center in Glendale, Tucson resident Jackie Barker threw her hands up in the air and shouted as her name was announced as the $250,000 grand prize winner for the Arizona Lottery’s $250,000 Jubilee live cash drawing event.
Six other Arizona residents took home $25,000 each. In all, 10 Arizona residents from across the state gathered on stage for the first of two live cash drawings tied to the Arizona Lottery’s $250,000 Jubilee Scratchers ticket. The second drawing will be held in July.
“I knew I was going to win; there was never a doubt in my mind,” Barker exclaimed after the drawing. “I’m a very lucky person. My friends always tell me how lucky I am, and this proves it!”
The six Arizonans who won $25,000 each are: Justin Prettyman, Queen Creek; Cheral Marble, Tucson; Leandre Oliver, Maricopa; Edward Montoya Sr., Scottsdale; Hoang Nguyen, Gilbert; and Shirley Buckley, Lake Havasu City. The three runners-up – Preston Haslam, Glendale; B.J. Lebaron, Mesa; and Steve Brown, Tucson – all went home with gift bags featuring hundreds of dollars in prizes.
“We were so happy to start the New Year off right for several Arizonans by giving one loyal player a check for $250,000 and checks for $25,000 to six other Arizona Lottery players,” said Art Macias, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. “We look forward to doing this again in July as we round out our yearlong celebration marking the Arizona Lottery’s 25th anniversary with another $250,000 drawing event as exciting as the one tonight.”
Beginning in July, when the Arizona Lottery’s special 25th anniversary $250,000 Jubilee ScratchersSM ticket was launched, players have had a chance to win a spot at the Dec. 31 “second chance” drawing if their ticket was an Entry-winning ticket. In all, approximately 5 million of the special $250,000 Jubilee Scratchers tickets were printed, and approximately 1.7 million tickets had the words “Gold Mine” on them. More than 158,000 lucky players with the “Gold Mine” tickets registered their tickets online, and the names of 10 finalists were drawn on Dec. 4.
The $250,000 Jubilee ticket offers players a chance to win more than $33 million in cash prizes ranging from $250,000.
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A Tale of Two Friends
Sam Ratcliff, in the gas and oil business, and Robert Hadley, a licensed cosmetologist, are long-time friends. Although Robert lives in Wyoming, the two friends stay in touch, and Sam frequently comes out to Phoenix to visit.
As he usually does, Robert purchased his Quick-Pick Powerball ticket for Wednesday night and then had his ticket checked at the store. He knew he had a winner, but the clerk couldn’t tell him the amount; so he went home and checked his numbers by visiting the Arizona Lottery website. He discovered that he had one ticket with a $7 winning line and another ticket with a winning line of $10,000 – was he excited!
Sam, who happened to be visiting Robert, was extremely happy for him. In fact, he was so happy that he went out and bought himself a Quick-Pick Powerball ticket for Saturday night’s drawing. When Sam checked his ticket, neither one of them could believe it when that ticket also turned out to be a $10,007 winner.
Sam and Robert have never won anything over $40 on the Lottery, but they made up for it on these two draws. The two friends already have plans for a cruise to the Panama Canal, but this additional windfall will certainly come in handy on their cruise.
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Winning Powerball ticket sold in Arizona
Ticket worth $15 million sold at Arizona Lottery office
When the Jan. 20 Powerball jackpot climbed to $205 million, Barry Salzman, Henderson, NV, did as he usually does – crossed the border to purchase a ticket at Boulder Inn (also known as “Rosie’s Den”), a little café on state Highway 93, 55 miles from Las Vegas.
Salzman didn’t win the jackpot, but he did win $10,000 by matching four numbers plus the Powerball. The bad weather put a crimp in his plans to redeem their ticket on Monday, Jan. 22, instead, he and his wife came to Phoenix on Friday, Jan. 26. As they say, timing is everything. When he came to the Lottery’s office at 4740 E. University Dr. to collect his $10,000 prize, he bought another Powerball ticket. This time it turned out to be a $15 million jackpot winner. So, they were right back in Phoenix yesterday.
“What a great follow-up to the ‘Arizona 9’ who won half of a $94 million Powerball jackpot in November,” said Art Macias, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. “This is the ninth winning Powerball jackpot sold in Arizona, and it is the first time it has been won by someone who doesn’t live in Arizona.”
Macias also noted that although the winners were from out-of-state, Arizona Powerball ticket sales stay in Arizona and benefit the State General Fund and Mass Transit. During the rollover period when the Powerball jackpot rose to $240 million, Arizona did almost $27 million in sales, which means that we generated over $8.4 million in revenues for the state and paid our retailers over $1.7 million in commissions.
While Salzman and his wife, Barbara, do not live in Arizona, they are frequent travelers to the state. Barbara’s business brings her to Phoenix on a regular basis.
Of his winning the Jackpot, Barry said, “You can ask my wife; I really had a gut feeling it was a winning ticket.” The Salzmans plan to use their winnings to pay off their house, help their children and make a sizeable donation to some of their favorite charities.
The Salzmans selected the cash option and will receive their check from the Multi State Lottery Association, the governing body for all Powerball members.
Saturday’s winning numbers were 10, 19, 26, 27, 32, and the Powerball was 14. There were more than 27,000 Powerball winners in Arizona from Saturday’s drawing, all the way from one-ball matches to the grand prize.
Powerball is played in 29 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball tickets for Saturday’s drawing can be purchased until 7:59 p.m. on Saturday. The Powerball drawings are broadcast during the 10 p.m. evening news on KNXV Channel 15 in Phoenix and KOLD Channel 13 in Tucson.
Players can also check their numbers by logging onto www.arizonalottery.com or by calling the winning numbers hotlines at 480-829-PICK in Phoenix, 520-325-9141 in Tucson, and 1-800-499-3798 in all other Arizona areas.
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And the Power-Play Number Was Five
In September 2000, Neil Burgess won $100,000 on the Powerball. At the time, the Power Play Option was not yet available. When Power Play was introduced to March 2001, Neil has always paid the extra $1 per line. On Jan. 20, the Power Play multiplier was 5 and really paid off big time for Neil.
When Neil took his Powerball ticket to the store to be scanned, the clerk told him he would have to take it to the Arizona Lottery office to be claimed as it was more than they could pay. Neil took the store print-out of the winning numbers home in order to carefully check his ticket. At first, he thought it was worth about $1,000, but each time he checked the lines on his ticket he found more matching numbers and, of course, more winnings. His final count was:
- One line with 5 matching numbers ($200,000)
- FOUR other lines with four matching numbers ($100 each)
- Multiply $200,000 and $100 times 5 for a whopping total of $1,002,000
When he arrived at the Arizona Lottery office, Neil was cool, calm and collected – until he received his check. Thinking about the amount, and actually seeing the check made out in his name are two different things and it took his breath away.
Neil served in the Air Force and then was a baker for Holsum Bakery until his retirement a few years ago. Now that he has some spare time, he manages to keep busy. He’s presently learning to use a computer, plays Bingo twice a week and enjoys going out to dinner with his friends.
The Arizona Lottery congratulates Neil on his spectacular win and his foresight in understanding and choosing the Power-Play option.
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It’s Your Ticket
Michael Cody has been chasing the Fantasy 5 jackpot for a few years, and he was finally able to catch it on Oct. 21, 2006. However, he had an interesting experience when he went to verify his ticket.
Michael first checked his numbers in the newspaper, so he felt confident he had a winning Fantasy 5 jackpot ticket. He also had his sister check it to be sure. He decided to take it to a nearby convenience store just to confirm that it was real. The clerk scanned the ticket and inadvertently tore the ticket in half. Michael almost had a heart attack. “What did you do that for?”, he asked the clerk. “Give me back my ticket!” He knew he had to have the ticket in order to claim his $50,000.
The clerk was so used to tearing tickets in half, that she did it before the Lottery terminal printed out the claim form and before she realized the ticket was a jackpot ticket. Arizona Lottery tip for the day: If you think there’s a chance that you have a winning ticket with a cash value of $500 or more, sign the back of it right away; and before you hand the ticket to the clerk to scan, tell him/her you want the ticket back.
Michael called his wife while she was at work to tell her the good news. At first, she didn’t believe him, thought he was kidding. But he finally convinced her, and later they talked about how they were going to use their winnings. Some of it will be used to pay some bills, some for their daughter who is in college, and perhaps a trip.
The Arizona Lottery congratulates Michael on winning his Fantasy 5 jackpot.
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Just in Time for Gift Giving
About a year ago, Don Wilson won $500 on Fantasy 5. On Nov. 30, 2006, he and his family were totally surprised when they discovered that his Quick Pick on the Fantasy 5 was worth $50,000. Evidently, the $500 win was a warm-up for the “big one.”
As a subscriber to the Arizona Lottery website, Don automatically gets the winning numbers sent to his e-mail address, so he simply wrote them down on a piece of paper to check. He compared his ticket to the numbers he’d written down and couldn’t believe it. He said he “Checked it about six times, and then signed it.”
At the time of this interview, the only people Don had told about his win were his wife and kids. But, he knew what he was going to do with his winnings. Number one on his list was to fix the car, number two was to be sure he and his family had a nice Christmas, and number three was to put the rest of the winnings in the bank.
Actually, Don has been pretty lucky with his Lottery experience by playing Powerball, The Pick, Fantasy 5 and the occasional Scratchers. He won $500 on Fantasy 5 a year ago; previously won $1,000 on Bingo, $500 on Crossword, and a lot of smaller wins.
Don, who is a tour guide in Arizona, enjoys fishing, prospecting for fun and pretty much most outdoor activities when he has any spare time.
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Twenty-Five Years -- Same Numbers
Mike Anagnopoulos has been playing the same numbers (important family dates) for the last twenty-five years – numbers that have special meaning to him. He always knew that one day they would turn out to be lucky numbers – and they were to the tune of $1.4 million.
On Dec. 17, 2006, the morning after the drawing for The Pick, Mike was at his restaurant at 5:30 a.m. reading the Sunday paper and having his morning coffee. All of a sudden, he realized the numbers in the paper matched his own set of numbers. Even though he always “knew” the numbers would win, he was still shocked. His first thought was, “Has the newspaper made a mistake?” He also hoped his ticket would be the only winner.
Mike managed to restrain himself until 6 a.m. before he called his wife, who was at home asleep. Remember, this was a Sunday morning! As Mike has been known to kid around, his wife’s first comment was, “Oh, come on!” When she finally realized he wasn’t kidding, she called the Lottery hotline to get the numbers and then went online to the Lottery website to check for herself.
Actually, Mike has had a lot of good luck playing the Arizona Lottery. He’s won $5,000 on Powerball three times. When Power Play became part of the Powerball, he immediately began to use the option; so the fourth time he won $5,000, his winnings increased to $20,000.
When asked if Mike had any plans for his winnings, he immediately said, “It’s come at a good time, and we’re going to invest our winnings.” With regard to what he does in his spare time, his wife’s comment was, “His hobby is work!” He loves being a restaurateur; in fact, the restaurant is a family-owned business.
The Arizona Lottery wishes Mike and his family continued success with their restaurant and is glad the win came at a good time.
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Lottery Introduces New Pick ‘Family of Games’
Beginning today, the Arizona Lottery has made exciting new changes to The Pick and Fantasy 5. All three Arizona based drawing games also have revised logos, thus creating a “family” of Pick games: The Pick, Pick 5 and Pick 3.
Periodic changes are necessary to refresh the games and keep them appealing to players. Multiple-player and non-player research studies have shown a very favorable response to these changes. The Lottery has made no significant changes to The Pick since 1999 and no changes to Fantasy 5, other than adding more drawings, since it started.
Changes to The Pick include adding three balls to the matrix, increasing it from 6/41 to 6/44, eliminating the bonus ball ($10,000 prize), and increasing the low- and mid-tier prizes from $2 to $3, from $40 to $50, and from $1,000 to $2,000. The annuity term will also increase from 25 to 30 years.
Although increasing the matrix will slightly increase the overall odds of winning, it should also create higher jackpots more often. And sales figures and player research indicate that more people play with higher jackpots.
Fantasy 5 becomes Pick 5 and the top $50,000 prize becomes a rolling jackpot so like The Pick, if it is not won, the prize increases with each subsequent drawing. The new jackpot will start with a guaranteed $50,000 and increase until it is won. The jackpot also becomes pari-mutuel, meaning that it will be split equally among multiple winners. The other prizes, the game matrix (5/35) and all of the odds for Pick 5 will remain the same.
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Multiply Your Excitement with Powerball Power Play 10X
During the month of April, Powerball will feature an exciting new promotion – Power Play 10X. During the promotion, one of the four 5s on the Power Play wheel will be substituted with a 10. When the multiplier number 10 is drawn, all Power Play prizes (excluding Jackpot and Match 5 Bonus prizes) will be multiplied by 10! That means that players could win up to $2 million dollars for the Match 5 prize!
Sales for Power Play 10X start Sunday, April 1st with the first 10X on the drawing wheel appearing Wednesday, April 4th. The promotion will run for at least eight (8) draws (four weeks) or until the 10X is drawn. The 10X could be drawn up to eight times during the promotion (once for each of the eight draws).
So for your chance at up to ten times the winnings, don’t forget to add Power Play to your Powerball purchase today!
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A Big Win Becomes Even Bigger
Nancy Burchfield and her husband have been regular players of the Powerball for years. Their loyalty was rewarded Feb. 26, 2007 when they won $200,000 with their Quick Pick Powerball ticket.
Nancy called the Lottery hotline to get the winning numbers, wrote them down and proceeded to check her tickets. The first ticket she checked matched the winning numbers, so of course she thought she had made a mistake. The next thing she did was to get her husband to check it and then, finally, a friend. Only then did she dare to think it was real.
Originally, Nancy thought her winning ticket was worth $100,000 as she had a Powerball information card that was about three years old. She didn’t realize that in 2005 the prize for five correct numbers had been increased to $200,000. As thrilled as she was when she realized she had a winning ticket, you can imagine her excitement when she was told the amount of her winnings was now double what she originally expected.
Not only did Nancy tell her family, she also told her co-workers. And since she and her husband work for the same company, it didn’t take long for the good news to spread. Since their office has a Powerball pool, Nancy’s win gave everyone hope that one day that they too would have a winning ticket.
Most of Nancy’s previous wins have been small, except for $1,000 on The Pick about three years ago. This win was timely, and they plan to put it to good use by paying off their home mortgage and student loans. With their big expenditures paid off, Nancy’s husband hopes to have some time to participate in his favorite pastime – drag racing and working on his dirt-track car.
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“I’m Going to Disneyland”
William Byrd had never played the Arizona Lottery’s Winning Lines Scratchers ticket before, but he liked the look of it, so he purchased five. One of those five tickets turned out to be a $15,000 winner.
William scratched the ticket and thought it was a winner, but, like most players, didn’t believe it was real. He was convinced he had either misread the directions or there was a mistake. He was so unsure that he had his fiancée check the ticket, and she didn’t believe it either. Finally, William called the Arizona Lottery office to find out what hours we were open and decided to come to the office, bring the ticket in to be verified, and think positive. Much to William’s delight, the ticket really was a $15,000 winner.
Scratchers tickets are William’s favorite Lottery purchase. However, until this win, all of his previous winnings had been small – the largest being $25. When asked if he had any special plans for his winnings, his comment was, “I’m taking the kids to Disneyland and going shopping.”
When he has spare time, William, who is a concert promoter, enjoys spending time with his kids and working around the house.
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Starting Over
Christy Perrette is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina – she lost all of her possessions and her business. But she had her family and a positive attitude, and she built a new life for herself.
After Katrina, Christy moved to Green Valley, Arizona to stay with her parents and give her time to regroup. It didn’t take her long before she was on her feet again. One day while she was waiting in line at the grocery store, she heard the man in front of her ask for a Fantasy 5 ticket. He also mentioned that a friend of his had won $500 twice. That was one year ago, and she’s been playing it ever since – one ticket a day. Little did Christy realize when she purchased her Fantasy 5 Quick Pick ticket for the March 17, 2007 drawing that she had purchased a winning jackpot ticket.
The day after the drawing, Christy’s daughter was checking the ticket against the numbers on the Arizona Lottery website when she let out a yell. When Christy realized she’d won, $50,000, she screamed. Her daughter got so excited that she threw her arms up in the air and the ticket went flying. Then they both panicked because they didn’t watch where it landed, and it took them a while to locate it – it had drifted underneath the sofa.
Although Christy has now recovered from the havoc Hurricane Katrina threw at her, this win certainly came at a good time. She has already invested her winnings and is hoping they will increase with time.
When she has the time away from her house-cleaning business, Christy enjoys reading, hiking, and searching for antiques.
Note: For those players who wish to try Fantasy 5, the name was recently changed to Pick 5 with some added features. The Pick 5 jackpot will roll each time it is not claimed. Just ask for it at your favorite Lottery retailer.
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A Timely Gift
When Jillian Jolliff received a gift of a Picture Perfect Bingo Scratchers ticket from her grandfather, neither one of them had any idea that hidden beneath the latex coating was a ticket worth $50,000.
After she scratched the ticket, Jillian sat and stared at it for a while. Then she had her family check it. In other words, she didn’t believe it was true. Everyone was in shock, and their first thought was, “There must be some kind of loophole – because it can’t be real.”
Jillian has a fulltime job working for a doctor, managing his front office, and is also a full-time student. She is working towards getting her degree in order to become a registered nurse. This win came at a great time, as she is getting ready to pay for next semester’s tuition.
When she manages to find some spare time, Jillian enjoys camping. She has never bought a Scratchers ticket, but she may now. And somehow, with her busy schedule, she managed to find time to earn her Third Degree Black Belt.
The Arizona Lottery is pleased that Jillian’s win came in time to help her with her tuition expenses, and we wish her continued good luck and success.
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Congratulations $250,000 Jubilee Semi-Finalists
Ten lucky people have even more reason to celebrate the Fourth of July! The results of the Arizona Lottery’s second $250,000 Jubilee grand prize drawing, conducted on Monday, June 4, are in!
We are excited to announce the semi-finalists are:
| Doug Scott, Mesa; |
| Shelly Knauf, Chandler; |
| Joan Handke, Phoenix; |
| Gregory Burrows, Tucson; |
| Mary Klus, Mesa; |
| Janet Peters, Glendale; |
| Mir Hashim, Peoria; |
| Conrad Sandoval, Phoenix; |
| John Kallas, Peoria; and |
| Mary Hitchiner, Sahaurita. |
|
Congratulations to you all!
Jubilee 4th of July drawing.
Each semi-finalist will have a chance to win $250,000 at the live drawing during the “Jubilee 4th of July drawing” event at ABC Studios in Phoenix. One semi-finalist will win the grand prize of $250,000, six semi-finalists will win $25,000, and three semi-finalists will win a Merchandise Prize Pack. The Arizona Lottery will be giving away a total of $400,000 to the semi-finalists.
What a great way for the Jubilee semi-finalists to celebrate the 4th of July!
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FLAGSTAFF COUPLE WINS $13.5 MILLION THE PICK™ JACKPOT
Arizona Lottery Introduces State’s Newest Millionaires
Erik and Crystal Brown, Flagstaff, are Arizona’s newest millionaires, thanks to the Arizona Lottery’s own high-jackpot game The Pick. The couple purchased the single winning ticket for the drawing of June 20 valued at $13.5 million at Flagstaff One Stop, 2325 S. Woodlands Village Blvd., Flagstaff.
“We are so excited for our winners,” said Art Macias, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. “At $13.5 million, this ranks in the top 10 jackpots for The Pick. We are also pleased to have a winning jackpot ticket sold in rural Arizona and that such a nice couple has won it.”
“We regularly play the The Pick and purchase our tickets 90 percent of the time from the Flagstaff One Stop,” shared Crystal Brown. “We always purchase our tickets on the day of the drawing, and yesterday, Erik asked me to pick up $20 worth of The Pick tickets, but I bought $40 instead!”
Although regular players, the couple typically checks their numbers late in the day, with exception of today. “For some reason, I decided to call the Lottery’s 800 line to check our numbers at 5:30 a.m. this morning,” said Erik Brown. “I gathered our tickets and dialed the Lottery’s 800 number from my cell phone to begin checking the numbers on our tickets. The first ticket I checked won us $3, which I was happy about, but the second ticket made me even happier. This was the ticket with the winning numbers for The Pick jackpot, and I literally went numb.” At that point Erik alerted Crystal, and after double checking their numbers on the Arizona Lottery Player Hotline (1-800-499-3798) and on the Lottery’s website, www.arizonalottery.com, they made the decision to drive to Phoenix to claim their prize.
When asked how the money would change their lives, Crystal said, “It may change where we live, but not how." Erik and Crystal said they were going to continue to work. So far, the only plan they have for the prize money is to purchase a house.
Photo credit: Frank Zampino
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Peoria Resident Wins $250,000 Jubilee Prize;
Six Runners-up Win $25,000 from the Arizona Lottery
Ten Arizona residents from across the state gathered on July 4 at the Arizona Lottery’s $250,000 Jubilee Scratchers™ ticket live cash drawing hoping to draw the winning ball worth $250,000. The lucky winner was John Kallas of Peoria, a Vietnam War veteran, who shared that he spends his free time panning for gold.
“Celebrating our players with this $250,000 Jubilee winner is a great way to end our 25th Anniversary and to mark the Fourth of July,” said Art Macias, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. “After all, it’s our players that helped generate the nearly $2 billion in contributions back to our state. Of course, we are looking forward to the next 25 years and to generating even more billions of dollars to make Arizona a better place to live and visit.”
Upon arrival to the drawing, the finalists randomly selected a drawing number and Mr. Kallas’ drawing number was 1. When the drawing began, the drawing machine first randomly selected the six $25,000 winners. “When my number wasn’t called as part of the first six, I was settling with the idea of not winning,” said John Kallas. “But my number was the last drawn and was the $250,000 winner! I couldn’t believe it!”
In addition to an instant $250,000 winner, six finalists won $25,000 each including Mary Hitchiner of Amado, Janet Peters of Glendale, Mary Klus of Mesa, Doug Scott of Mesa, Joan Handke of Phoenix and Skye Sandoval of Tempe. Three runners-up received gift bags featuring hundreds of dollars in prizes.
The $250,000 Jubilee live cash giveaway was held at ABC 15 (KNXV) studios — transformed into a game show-style set including a live audience. The drawing aired later that night following the 6 p.m. newscast. The Arizona Lottery’s special 25th Anniversary $250,000 Jubilee ScratchersSM ticket was launched last summer, and players have cashed in on multiple prizes including a chance to win a spot at the two “second chance” live cash drawings. Tickets with the word “Entry” on them earned the ticket-holder an entry into one of the live drawings — one on New Year’s Eve and the second on Fourth of July. More than 158,000 lucky players with the “Entry” tickets registered their tickets online, and the names of 10 finalists were drawn on June 3.
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I’m Not Coming to Work Today
Erik and Crystal Brown each took a personal day’s leave from work to come to the Arizona Lottery office and collect the $13.5 million jackpot they won on The Pick for the June 20, 2007 drawing. However, they were planning to return to their jobs the next day. In fact, since they got through earlier than expected, Crystal planned to go to work as soon as they returned home now, that’s a dedicated employee.
As she usually does, Crystal purchased Quick Pick tickets for The Pick. The next morning Erik checked the numbers online, then against the numbers in the newspaper. In shock, he waited a few minutes, then woke up Crystal to tell her they had matched all six numbers for the jackpot. She got up and checked the numbers herself and also went into shock.
Finally, when they both realized that their ticket really did match all six numbers, they called Erik’s brother who, of course, didn’t believe them and promptly hung up the telephone. Erik waited a couple of minutes, called him back and said, “What are you doing today? Erik and Crystal were a little shaky and wanted his brother to drive them to the Lottery office. They wanted the ticket out of the house and validated before something could happen to it. All three of them called their employers and took a personal day off from work to come to Phoenix.
It wasn’t until the ticket was validated that the reality of what they had won hit them. If they thought they were shaky before they turned in the ticket, that was nothing compared to how they felt when they had time to really think about the actual dollar amount. The Brown’s chose the cash option and, after taxes, received a check for $5,108,108.04 million. They hadn’t yet told anyone in the family, except for Erik’s brother. As Erik said, We wanted to have the check in hand first.
One thing is certain, Erik and Crystal plan to seek sound financial advice so they can invest their winnings for the future. The only immediate purchase will probably be a new home. But, as Crystal said, We may change where we live, but not how.
Photo credit: Frank Zampino
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$200,000 Instantly Turns Into $600,000
Robert Rooke purchased his Powerball tickets using his own set of numbers from a store he happened to pass. The clerk made a mistake and neglected to give him the Power Play option. Later, he went to the store where he normally purchases his tickets and asked the clerk who usually waits on him, “Do you feel lucky? I do!” So he purchased a few Quick Picks on the Powerball making sure he got the Power Play option.
The next morning, his wife saw the Powerball tickets on top of the kitchen counter and went online to check the numbers. When Robert came into the kitchen, she told him, “You don’t have any winners.” Robert said, “You don’t know yet, because I bought a couple of extra Quick Pick tickets.” He asked her to tell him what the winning numbers were, then when he saw that those numbers were correct, he asked her to tell him the Powerball number. He said, “We’ve got five numbers, this has got to be serious money.”
When Robert and Lynda realized they had won $200,000, and with the multiplier of three, a grand total $600,000, they both jumped up and down around the kitchen. Robert called the store where he bought the ticket to see when the clerk who sold him the ticket would be on duty, as he wanted her to validate it.
When they got to the store, Robert handed the signed ticket to the clerk. He told her, “We did good.” When the ticket was validated, the clerk knew the ticket was a winner, but had no idea what it was worth until Robert told her the amount was $600,000. The Rooke’s told their family and a few friends, but since Robert is a well-known realtor, they knew it wouldn’t be long before everyone in town knew they had won.
The Rooke’s plan to share their winnings with their family and invest the rest. And, of course, continue their tradition of playing the Powerball with the Power Play option.
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A Family Celebration
Dan Cutbirth’s family Easter celebration turned out to be a celebration of his winning $200,000 Powerball ticket from the April 7, 2007 drawing. On Easter morning, Dan woke up at 4 and let the rest of the family sleep. Usually, he balances his checkbook first and then checks his Lottery ticket. For some unknown reason, this time he decided to check his Lottery ticket first. Needless to say, he didn’t quite get around to balancing his checkbook.
Dan’s first thought was, “The perfect gift. The Easter Bunny brought me a special egg.” Since the entire family was gathered together for Easter, everyone knew about his winning ticket. His wife also informed her boss, so she could take Monday off from work.
Besides playing Powerball, Dan also plays The Pick, Pick 5, Pick 3 and an occasional Scratchers ticket. Whenever he has a win (and up until this win, they’ve all been small), he just rolls them over into new tickets. And just a few months ago, he was one of the lucky winners of a Sun’s Gift Pack in one of the Sun’s daily drawings.
As a retired warehouse and manufacturing manager, Dan now has plenty of time for fishing and his and his wife’s favorite pastime, antiquing. In fact, his wife and sister-in-law recently fulfilled a life-long dream of opening up their own antique shop.
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Lunch Break Worth $200,000
Roberto Valencia was on his lunch break and went to gas up his car. While at the station, he went inside the convenience store to buy a newspaper and some water. As he paid for his items, he decided to buy some Lottery tickets -- six Quick Picks -- three for The Pick and three for Powerball.
Late on April 13, while he was still at work (yes, it was a Friday), he remembered to check his tickets. He went online and held the tickets in his hand while he checked. Roberto said, “After I saw the numbers, I started to shake. I could hardly hold the ticket.”
Since it was around 5 p.m., there were only a few people still at work, but they all came running to his office when they heard Roberto shout with excitement. Later, after he had called the Lottery office and some of the initial excitement had eased, he soon realized he would have to wait the entire weekend before he could redeem his ticket, as the Lottery office closes at 5 p.m. Although he and his family were thrilled, he was so nervous about having the ticket in the house, he didn’t get much sleep that weekend.
Early Monday morning, still on a “high,” Roberto was at the Lottery office with his ticket in hand ready to claim his winnings He plans to invest a good portion of the money, enjoy some of it, and make a nice donation to his church.
Roberto, a parts manager in the automotive industry, enjoys golfing, hiking and hunting in his spare time. And, yes, he still plans to keep playing the Lottery; although he will now play Powerball’s Power Play.
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Crown Jewel Reigns Supreme
Kirk Machida is an upbeat, enjoy-life-to-the-hilt kind of guy – he’s never lost that California verve for life. He also has his own unique game plan for purchasing Scratchers tickets. Whenever the Phoenix Suns win a basketball game, he celebrates by purchasing a Scratchers ticket. He figures that if they can get lucky, maybe he can, too.
When the Suns recently won, he purchased a Crown Jewel Scratchers ticket. He scratched it while he was in the store and went into shock when he saw that he had won $77,777. Just to be sure, he had the owner of the store scan the ticket, and he couldn’t believe it either. The store never had a win as large as that one.
Kirk was so excited that he was jumping up and down in the store -- he does not do things quietly. He said he couldn’t believe it was really happening. What was really funny, he said, was when he called everyone in the immediate world to tell them the good news. His girlfriend’s immediate comment was, “It’s probably only $7.77 -- look at it again.” When he told his family, their reaction was, “Are you serious?” When he told his friends, a number of them thought he was lying. Everyone believes him now.
When asked if he had any special plans for his winnings, Kirk replied, “I plan to invest most of it…I don’t want to blow it, but I also have a few things I want to do.” One of them is to purchase season tickets for the Lakers games so he and his brother can go together. He also plans to purchase some Kobe Bryant jerseys for himself and five special people at work.
When he has spare time away from his job in accounting, Kirk has an unusual special interest – pole vaulting. He usually tries to practice at least once a week. He also enjoys playing basketball and playing the Arizona Lottery games. His special interests appear to be a nice diversion from his time spent crunching numbers.
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A Crossword Lover’s Dream
Eloy Ortiz loves the Crossword Scratchers as he’s, “Always had decent luck with them.” When he first scratched the Kingsize Crossword Scratchers ticket, he thought he had only won about $50. So he gave it to his wife to take to the store to redeem. Of course, when the clerk scanned the ticket, his wife was told she would have to go to the Arizona Lottery office to get paid. It was at that point that his wife thought the ticket was probably worth $2,500.
When Eloy’s wife got home, they rechecked the ticket and found a letter he had missed. “That’s when my heart started pumping overtime,” Eloy said. They both were thrilled when they thought they had won $2,500. You can just imagine the excitement when they realized they had won $50,000. The timing is perfect for the Ortiz family, as their son just graduated from high school and begins college this fall.
Eloy, who is vice-president of a construction firm, usually just purchases Scratchers tickets. And until this beautiful win, all of his previous wins have been small ones. In his spare time, when he isn’t relaxing or spending time with his family, he enjoys “America’s favorite game” – baseball.
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“We Hit the Big One”
Eleven happy people had a share in the $3,112,684.66 The Pick jackpot of October 3, 2007. This group of Tucson co-workers has been playing for the last six years. However, they’ve only been playing The Pick for about two months. Prior to that, they purchased Powerball tickets, but came to the conclusion that their odds would be better
on The Pick. So they split the amount between the two games. And it looks as though their instincts paid off.
The co-workers connected at the manufacturing plant where they work, and they each take turns purchasing tickets. They don’t purchase their tickets at any one particular store. Whoever’s turn it is to purchase the tickets selects the store. This time, Orlando Contreras had to buy the tickets, and while he was passing through Oro Valley, he stopped and bought five Powerball and six The Pick tickets – all Quick Picks.
Thursday morning, Gary was the first member of the pool at work, so he got the numbers from the newspaper and checked them several times against the ticket. He then called the Arizona Lottery Hotline to see if they were the only jackpot winners. They were.
The second member of the pool to arrive at work was Michael Contreras (cousin to Orlando). Gary called him over and said, “We hit the big one.” Michael said, “What?” It took a couple of minutes to register that they had actually won the jackpot. Eventually, the rest of the pool wandered in and the news quickly spread throughout the plant. Their boss was happy for them because they had won, but not enough to quit their jobs.
One interesting side note is that Gary’s wife called her family, who live overseas, to tell them the good news and discovered that the night before; her sister had just won $1,000 in their lottery. That’s really keeping it in the family.
Each member of the pool received a check for $107,070.24 after taxes – except for Gary Reich, who is one of the spokesmen of the group. He got one whole penny more for his efforts.
The majority of the members of the pool plan to invest their winnings, and Gary and Michael are no exception. Both plan to invest; but first Gary is going to pay off his Jeep and Michael is going to take his family to Disneyland.
The Arizona Lottery extends its congratulations to all of the members of the Tucson pool.
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Arizona Snags Eight $200,000 Powerball® Winners
Powerball mania hit Arizona from June 30 through Aug. 25, and although we didn’t sell the winning jackpot ticket, we did have eight $200,000 winners. Two of their stories are told here – both of them from the drawing of Aug. 22, 2007.
Vincente Guarino is a stock broker by trade and usually plays the Powerball as part of a pool at work. However, he also purchases Quick Pick Powerball tickets for himself and his wife separately from those at work. And is he glad he does! Vincente was watching television when the Powerball numbers rolled across the bottom of the television screen. He checked his tickets and couldn’t believe what he was looking at – five matching numbers. In fact, he was so unsure, that he didn’t even tell his wife that he thought they had a winner.
The next day, Vincente was like a Monopoly® player, only he was headed straight to the Arizona Lottery Office to redeem his ticket. He still hadn’t told his wife – he planned to tell her that night when she got home from work. He already had a few plans for his winnings – pay some bills, invest the rest, and maybe he and his wife would do something special later.
Carlos Ponce stopped at a gas station and, as he usually did, whatever cash he had left after paying for gas, was what he used to purchase his Quick Pick Powerball tickets.
A few days later, while he was at the gas station again, Carlos had the clerk scan his tickets. “The clerk thought the machine was broken.” Evidently, he’d never scanned a winning ticket where the terminal printed out a claim form. But, he gave Carlos back his ticket and the form. When he got home, Carlos went online to check the amount, and when he saw that five numbers were worth $200,000 he got excited about the win. At that point, he woke up his wife to tell her. They both still had some trouble believing it was real as they’ve only had two very small wins previously and wanted to be sure they hadn’t misread the ticket.
So far, they’ve only told family. They plan to pay off their mortgage and invest the rest. Being a self-employed retailer, Carlos doesn’t have a lot of spare time; in fact, he does a lot of his paperwork at home on the weekends. The rest of the time he spends with his family.
All of our eight $200,000 winners were all smiles when they received their checks.
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Both Jackpot Winners of the Millionaire Raffle Step Forward
Waiting until after the holidays to redeem their tickets, the two winners of the Millionaire Raffle jackpots came to the Arizona Lottery Phoenix office within one day of each other.
Marie Morocco of Scottsdale claimed her $1,000,000 prize Jan. 2, 2008, and Martha (Denise) Turberville of Phoenix claimed her $1,000,000 prize Jan. 3, 2008. After taxes, each received a check for $700,000.
Marie stopped at a convenience store, happened to see the signs promoting the raffle, and made a “what the heck” purchase of two tickets. While watching the news on ABC15, Marie saw the winning numbers, looked at her tickets, and thought she was “reading the numbers wrong.” She kept using the TV remote’s pause button to compare the numbers on TV and on her tickets. Finally, she began to realize that she was one of the two $1,000,000 winners.
Marie will invest most of her winnings. However, she may consider a little bit of special shopping for herself. Working as an accountant keeps her busy, but when she does have spare time, she enjoys spending it with her family.
Our other jackpot winner, Martha (Denise) Turberville of Phoenix, saw the ad for the raffle while watching television. The next day, she went to a store to get information. She did not purchase a ticket at that time, as she wanted to think about it. Then, a few days later while shopping at a local Fry’s, she decided to purchase a ticket.
At 3:30 a.m. Dec. 31, 2007, Denise went to the Millionaire Raffle website and entered her ticket number. When she saw the message, “Congratulations, you are a winner. Please go to the Arizona Lottery office,” she thought she had “been bumped to another site and that it was an error. I was shocked…kept wandering around the house in disbelief!”
Denise, who is an engineer, plans to use her winnings to help her parents, may splurge on the purchase of a new car, and plans to invest the rest.
“I want to congratulate the 2 one million dollar winners of the Arizona Lottery’s first Millionaire Raffle,” said Art Macias, Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery. “Millionaire Raffle is the Lottery’s newest product. With only 350,000 tickets available, the game sold out in 47 days and generated $7 million in sales!”
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All for One and One for All
On Jan. 14, 2008, 10 members of a pool of 11 friends came to the Arizona Lottery office to claim their winnings. They arrived with pomp and circumstance in a chauffer-driven black limousine. When the group was asked, “Why the limo?” they replied, “We always wanted to ride in one.” In addition, from the sound of their excitement, it obviously was easier and much more fun to come to the Lottery together.p>
The pool, all members of East Mesa Moose Lodge #2082, won $200,000 on the Powerball drawing of Jan. 12, 2008. “It’s exciting when we see a group of friends win one of the Lottery games,” said Art Macias, Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery. “Since Arizona joined Powerball in 1994, we have sold nine jackpot tickets and 618 second place tickets.”
This group of 11 winners has been friends for more than 15 years, but has only been playing the Lottery as a pool for a year and a half. They each put in $5 per Powerball draw. Susie Brewer, the “leader of the gang,” purchased 55 tickets. Sometime after 11 p.m. Saturday, she called the Arizona Lottery Hotline, heard the numbers, but thought it was a mistake. She had a couple of other friends check, but no one really believed it.
On Sunday morning, after rechecking the numbers several times, at 5 a.m., Susie began making calls to everyone in the group. Most of them were half-asleep – they either woke up right away or went back to sleep and then woke up later thinking they had dreamt the whole thing. Once the entire group knew they had purchased a winning ticket, everyone in their immediate world knew: friends, family, and the entire Moose Lodge.
Each pool member has a different idea as to how to use the winnings. For example, Eric Henshaw may take a trip to Virginia for a Marine Corps Reunion; Mary and “Bud” Goetz plan to pay off their car; Richard Flamini plans to just enjoy it; Paul Zehringer is going to put his winnings into his IRA; Sue Zehringer is returning to Ohio for a reunion; and Irene Jacobs plans to bring her sister to Arizona for a visit. For Johnny Walker, the one member of the pool who was not able to join his friends because of illness, this win was a highlight.
Although they are a group of friends who enjoy having a good time, they are also extremely community oriented. Through their Moose Lodge, they deliver food baskets during the Thanksgiving holiday to families who need help, raise funds for science projects for Stevenson School, and contribute to Toys for Tots. Sue Zehringer makes blankets for a hospital. Every year Glenna Shepler assumes the role of Mrs. Claus for a children’s Christmas party at the Moose Lodge and makes sure every child has a gift.
This delightful pool of winners planned to make sure the clerk who sold them the ticket was not forgotten by presenting her with a tip.
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Power Play 10X is Back!
During the month of April, Powerball's exciting promotion, Power Play 10X, is back. During the promotion, one of the four 5s on the Power Play wheel will be substituted with a 10. When the multiplier number 10 is drawn, all Power Play prizes (excluding Jackpot and Match 5 Bonus prizes) will be multiplied by 10!
Sales for Power Play 10X start Sunday, March 30th with the first 10X on the drawing wheel appearing Wednesday, April 2nd. The promotion will run for at least nine (9) draws (four weeks) or until the 10X is drawn. The 10X could be drawn up to nine times during the promotion (once for each of the nine draws). If the 10X has not been selected during the promotion period, the promotion will continue until the 10X has been selected.
So for your chance at up to ten times the winnings, don't forget to add Power Play to your Powerball purchase today!
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Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Do you know what you are getting your mother?
Over the years, your mother has probably received in excess of 30 pounds of chocolate, countless floral arrangements, and every kitchen gadget known to man. This year, why not give her something different?
The Arizona Lottery and By the Bunch Florist are giving away one Arizona Lottery Millionaire Raffle ticket to the first 50 people who place an order and say, “make it a Millionaire Mom Bouquet.” Customers can begin requesting the bouquet on Friday, May 9.
The 50 Arizona Lottery “Millionaire Mom Bouquets” are first-come, first-serve. Shoppers can either visit the flower shop on Friday or call 602-956-6711 and simply ask for the “Millionaire Mom Bouquet” to receive one free Millionaire Raffle ticket, valued at $20 and potentially worth $1 million, inserted among the flowers in their Mother’s Day bouquet.
Millionaire Raffle tickets are priced at $20. Tickets are sold in sequential order, and sales will stop once the last of the 350,000 tickets has been sold. There are more than $3.5 million in prizes in the game, including two $1 million prizes with other cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. Prizes include five prizes of $100,000, 30 prizes of $10,000, and 700 prizes of $1,000. The drawing for Arizona’s next Millionaire Raffle is on June 11. Winning numbers will be posted on www.azmillionaireraffle.com on June 12.
Make this a Mother’s Day she’ll always remember by giving her a gift of tickets from the Arizona Lottery’s Millionaire Raffle.
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