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Wade Hutz had the day off from his job as a letter carrier and decided to check his Lottery tickets. While he was at the store, he asked the clerk to also check his multi-draw ticket, even though the ticket still had more draws on it. The clerk told him, �I can�t cash this, you won the big prize. You�ll have to go the Lottery office.�

When he arrived at the Lottery office, Wade still had no idea how much the ticket was worth � just that it was a good-size win. Was he in for a surprise � his The Pick ticket was worth $2, 080,747.30 � definitely the �big prize� from the June 7, 2006 drawing.

Wade has been playing his own set of numbers for years. His problem has been that his numbers were usually one number away from the actual winning numbers. With that scenario in mind, Wade decided to play a second set of numbers. He took his long-time set of numbers and made up a new set, with each number being �one away� from the original number. He�s been playing these �new� numbers for about five years and these were the ones that won him the jackpot!

Having been a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for over 12 years, Wade doesn�t have a lot of spare time. But, when he does he enjoys playing golf, attending the Coyotes Hockey Games when they�re in town and spending time with his dog, a Pug-Chihuahua mix.

At the time of this interview, Wade hadn�t yet told anyone he�d won the jackpot. First, he came to the Lottery office directly from the store and he wasn�t even sure he really was a �big prize� winner nor the amount of his win. Second, after it was confirmed that he really had won the jackpot, the reality of his win hadn�t sunk in yet. He still planned to go to work Monday morning, albeit with a big grin on his face.

The Arizona Lottery extends its congratulations to Wade Hutz, Arizona�s latest millionaire.

Lottery Celebrates 25 Years with Trip Giveaways

To showcase how Lottery dollars has helped Arizona over the past 25 years, look for the �Go Where the Money Goes� promotion on our website.

The �Go Where the Money Goes� promotion offers free trip giveaways to destinations across the state that have benefited from Lottery proceeds. To enter, click on the �Where the Money Goes� section and enter your name for a chance to win one of 12 packaged trip giveaways to a dozen wildly popular destinations across Arizona - from the red rocks of Sedona to the hilly pines in Flagstaff. Each trip consists of a night�s stay at an area hotel, plus admission for four people to a local attraction or activity, such as a jeep tour, boat ride or railroad trip. Lottery ticket purchase is not necessary to enter.

The first drawing will be held on August 25, and subsequent drawings will be held the last Friday of each month through June 2007. The Arizona Lottery has contributed nearly $2 billion to the state of Arizona since its inception in 1981, this promotion gives you the opportunity to "Go Where the Money Goes"!

How Many Numbers Do We Have?

Paul Wolfgang thought he had a wonderful winning line worth $30,000 on his Powerball ticket. However, when he came to the Lottery office to redeem his ticket, he got a great surprise � his �wonderful winning line� was actually worth $200,000.

Paul and his wife were relaxing at home when Paul decided to check his Powerball tickets in the Sunday paper. His wife was sitting next to him as he started to say, �Three numbers, four numbers, five numbers!� He checked the ticket three times and it was at that point that he thought the ticket was worth $30,000. When he went online, he printed out a claim form, but didn�t check to see what five numbers paid.

Over the years, Paul has played the Powerball sporadically, whenever he remembered to purchase tickets. He�s had a number of small wins, but nothing over $7.

Paul is retired, but occasionally goes back to work as a construction superintendent. Since he has a complete workshop at home, in his spare time he thoroughly enjoys remodeling, repairing and fixing just about anything. He and his wife plan to either invest their winnings for the best return, or use it for their retirement.

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.

Lottery Introduces New Pick �Family of Games�

New The Pick logo Beginning Monday, March 19th, 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.

New Pick 3 logo 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.

The Pick 5 logo 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.

Arizona Lottery Urges Players: Don�t �Buy-into� Lottery Scams

If you receive an email, letter or phone call informing you that you are a winner in a lottery, believe it ONLY if it is from the Arizona Lottery and ONLY if you have entered a second chance drawing for the Arizona Lottery.

Otherwise, it�s a scam!

DON�T believe it, DON�T cash any checks (they will bounce), DON�T send them any money and DON�T give anyone any personal information . . . that can lead to identity theft.

Identity theft is the major problem with these scams. The personal information you supply them may enable them to apply for credit cards, passports, drivers� licenses � in your name. That information may also enable them to access your existing bank account and credit cards.

Lottery scams happen frequently. Persons claiming to represent lotteries from Algeria to Zimbabwe will contact you and inform you that have won a prize in their lottery.

How could you win a prize in a lottery you didn�t play? Don�t believe it when they tell you that you were selected by an �advanced random computer number search.�

Here are some ways to protect yourself against Lottery scams:

Never give out your bank account number so that prize can be wired to your account. The purpose is to clean out your account.
Never accept a collect call from someone claiming to be a lottery official. Legitimate lotteries do not call collect.
Never believe a letter, phone call or Internet message from someone who guarantees you a prize.
Beware of a prize notice for a lottery you never entered.
Legitimate lotteries do not guarantee that you will win a prize and do not require people to join prize pools to play.
Never trust someone who says you can win the lottery by purchasing a set of �winning numbers� instead of a ticket. Legitimate lotteries require you to buy a ticket for a chance to win a prize.
Never play a foreign lottery by phone, mail or Internet. It is against the law � and it increases your chance of falling victim to a scam.
Never pay processing fees, insurance or commissions to claim a lottery prize. Legitimate lotteries do not require winners to pay anything up front to receive a prize.

For more complete information on these scams, pick up the �Illegal Lottery Scams� brochure available at your favorite retailer.

If you are contacted by someone claiming that you have won a lottery prize, please notify the Arizona Lottery immediately. You can also forward the email to us by clicking on the �Contact Us� link.

Reaping the Benefits of Power Play

John Boyd has been playing the Power Play Option for a while, but never really imagined how thrilled he would be that he always purchases it. On June 12, 2006, he redeemed his winning $10,000 Power Ball ticket that was now worth $30,000 due to his having purchased the Power-Play option. (For those of you who are not familiar with the Power Play, it works like this: For an additional $1 per play, players select the option, which gives them a chance to multiply any win, except the jackpot, by the randomly drawn number of 2, 3, 4, or 5. The Power Play number is drawn immediately before the Powerball numbers.)

John got the winning numbers while watching television and then checked his ticket. He then rechecked his ticket several times to be sure it really was a winner and kept staring at it in disbelief. Once he was sure it wasn�t a dream, he came down to the Lottery office to claim his winnings. At the time, he had not yet told his wife, but was going to surprise her at work and take her to lunch. He thought she would definitely be surprised as outside of winning $500 on Powerball several times, all their other wins have been small ones.

John, who is an assistant manager in a retail operation, loves to spend his spare time with his grandchildren. He said he �will probably pay some bills and perhaps use some of his winnings toward a new car.�

The Arizona Lottery sends its congratulations to John for his win and for his foresight in choosing the Power-Play Option.

Maria�s Silver Spectacular Win

Michael Cram 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.

A Winning Combination: Powerball With Power Play

Richard Desormeaux and new car Richard Desormeaux boosted his winning $200,000 Powerball ticket to a grand total of $800,000 with his purchase of the Power Play option. The Power Play number was four; multiply $200,000 times four, and there you have it -- $800,000.

Richard always purchases his Powerball tickets with the Power Play option, because the one time he didn�t purchase it he won $100 and missed out on an additional $400.

The winning ticket for the May 17 drawing consisted of Richard�s own numbers, and he has an unusual way of selecting them. He buys five Powerball Quick Pick tickets, then takes all of the Powerball numbers on his Quick Pick tickets and purchases a ticket using those numbers as his numbers. He then lets the computer pick the Powerball number. It certainly worked for him this time!

Richard got the printout from the store late Wednesday evening after the draw, but didn�t check his ticket until the next day. When he realized his numbers had been drawn, he immediately signed the back of the ticket and put it in the safe. The next morning, he wrote down his numbers and went to the store to make sure he hadn�t made a mistake � he hadn�t. That�s when it really began to sink in � �I was dumbfounded . . . these things don�t happen to me.�

Although he hasn�t made any long-term plans, Richard placed the money in the bank and has a meeting scheduled this week with a financial advisor. However, there were a couple of things that he wanted to do immediately, and did: some dental work and a brand new, shiny black �dream car� � a Chrysler 300. As he said, �the Lottery has been very, very good to me.�

Richard, a welder, reported to work right after he picked up his check and told his boss that he was �taking a little time off.� He plans to continue to work, but for the time being will pursue some of his favorite pastimes --- ham radio, bowling and shooting pool. He has been playing the Lottery regularly since the �80s and plans to continue to purchase Powerball tickets and, of course, always with the Power Play option.

And, just in case you didn�t know, Power Play works like this: For an additional $1 per play, players select the Power Play option, which gives them a chance to multiply any win (except the jackpot) by 2, 3, 4, or 5. The Power Play number is drawn immediately before the Powerball numbers.

Update:

Safeway clerk Monique
Rodriguez, $800,000 Powerball winner
Richard Desormeaux, Safeway Store
Manager Bill Orth, and Arizona Lottery
Sales Director Dan Pitts. On Tuesday, May 23, Richard Desormeaux, the lucky owner of the $800,000 2nd place Powerball ticket was not the only one celebrating.

Fry�s Food Store 128, 744 W. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, had the good fortune to sell the winning ticket and, on behalf of the store, Manager Bill Orth was thrilled to receive a $1,000 check from the Arizona Lottery.

The store received the $1,000 as part of the Arizona Lottery's comprehensive retailer incentive program.

A number of Fry�s customers who happened to be at the store during the promotion, got a chance to join in the �party.� Customers met the winner, purchased tickets from the lucky store, spun the Lottery prize wheel for prizes and met Windfall Willie, the Lottery mascot, who made a guest appearance.

It was a day filled with fun, and, as one player put it, hope that Richard's luck would rub off on her.

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.

Come On Out To The Ballgame

Slide in to your local retailer and get your Hold �Em Poker Scratchers™ ticket!

The ticket features a top prize of $50,000 and over 3,000 prizes between $100 and $1,000.

And that�s not all. On May 26, you could be singing �Take me out to the ballgame.� Just take a non-winning Hold 'Em Poker Scratchers ticket to the Tucson Sidewinders game and get $1 off each ticket you buy for that game.

What better way can you think of to spend the $1 you saved than on a hotdog and icy cold soda while watching your favorite player step up to bat and hit the homerun.

Money Won�t Change Him

Gomez Refugio 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.

Ribbon-Wrapped $200,000 Pool

When the store manager opened Diane�s Ribbon and Notions early one morning, he had time to check their pool�s Powerball tickets. The first line on the first ticket had five correct numbers. He looked at the ticket, looked at it again, called the Lottery hotline three times to make sure he hadn�t made a mistake. And only then did he call store owner Jeffrey Rust.

When Jeff arrived at the store, there was a strong air of jubilation, but then reality set in. Everyone had to fill out a claim form and all of the claims for the ticket had to be filed at the same time. But, one employee had taken time off to go to Laughlin. Fortunately, they were able to reach her early in the morning and on her way to Laughlin she stopped in at the Lottery office and completed a claim form and left it to be turned in with the rest of the pool�s forms. Each member of the pool received $22,222 after taxes.

The pool usually purchases Powerball tickets when the jackpot reaches $100 million.

When the pool was first formed, Jeffrey had each employee select a number. Now, as a thank you, no matter the size of the jackpot, Jeffrey purchases one Powerball ticket for his employees with these numbers.

Diane�s Ribbon and Notions has been in business at the same location for 59 years and their employee turn-over is extremely low. The Arizona Lottery wishes the business and their Lottery pool continued success. The pool still plans to continue to play; only now they will consider the Power-Play option.

A Special Edition Win

Tina Murtaugh loves to play Special Edition Crossword as she feels she�s really getting her money�s worth. She�s also a big fan of the bonus at the bottom of the ticket. However, she�s still finding it hard to believe she won a top prize of $50,000.

Since she was having a party at her home that night, Tina quickly scratched the ticket. Then she looked at it in disbelief and counted the words on the ticket over and over and over again. After her guests arrived, she had as many as five different people check the ticket. The party ended up being a grand celebration of her win.

Tina buys Scratchers tickets about three times a week, but only occasionally plays the Powerball. She�s had several wins of $100 and $300, but obviously this one is the largest. She�s going to pay a few bills and is considering buying her husband a special gift.

When she�s not working, one of Tina�s special interests is remodeling her home, so this win certainly came at a good time.

$2.5 Million The Pick Jackpot In Stack of Unchecked Tickets

Robert and Carmen Casillas 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.

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.

�I�m Going to Disneyland�

Byrd, William 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 fianc�e 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.

A Timely Gift

Jolliff, Jillian 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.

Peoria Resident Wins $250,000 Jubilee Prize;
Six Runners-up Win $25,000 from the Arizona Lottery

Art Macias Windfall Willie John Kallas 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.

A Family Celebration

Cutbirth, Dan 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.

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.

Both Jackpot Winners of the Millionaire Raffle Step Forward

Marie Morocco 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.

Martha (Denise) Turberville 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!�

I�m Not Coming to Work Today

Pick Winners - Erik & Crystal Brown 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

$200,000 Instantly Turns Into $600,000

Rooke, Lynda and Robert 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.

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.

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.

�We Hit the Big One�

Tucson The Pick Jackpot winner group 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.

Arizona Snags Eight $200,000 Powerball� Winners

Carlos Ponce 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.

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!

All for One and One for All

East Mesa Moose Lodge winners 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.

Winning Powerball ticket sold in Arizona

Ticket worth $15 million sold at Arizona Lottery office

Arizona Lottery Executive Director Art Macias, Powerball� jackpot winners Barry and Barbara Salzman 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 caf� 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.

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.

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.

Hoop De Doo

Richard Scott, Tucson, has been a Phoenix Suns fan for over 40 years and went to school with Jerry Colangelo. In March, he received an email informing him that he was one of 10 semi-finalists for the Hoop De Doo Scratchers Grand Prize of a Road Trip with the Phoenix Suns.

Richard, who never saw a contest he didn�t like, actually ended up being the Grand Prize Winner.

Each of the semi-finalists received two tickets to the Suns vs Lakers game on April 7, an Arizona Lottery gift bag, which included 50 Scratchers tickets, two spots for the Arizona Lottery�s Phoenix Suns Fantasy Basketball Camp and of course, a chance to win two seats on the Suns� April 18 & 19 road trip to Portland.

Richard is a retired professor from the University of Arizona College of Business. While there, he was also actively involved with recruiting players for the University. He loves all sports and has tickets for four different sporting events and attends the games with Margaret, his wife of 46 years.

Richard and Margaret recently returned from their road trip to Portland and had a great time. Not only did they have great seats for the game, they also had a number of opportunities to interact with some of the players while on the plane and at the hotel.

Hoop De Doo Promo The couple had beautiful weather in Portland and used their free time to visit some well-known spots. One evening they had dinner at Huber�s, Portland�s oldest restaurant, built in 1879. While there, they met the owner who ended up giving them a private tour of the restaurant, including its history.

As of this time, Richard has made no plans as to when he�ll attend the Fantasy Camp.

Country Thunder USA

When Country Thunder USA rolls into Florence, April 5-8, the Arizona Lottery Ticket Corral will be there to join the fun. Come visit our Ticket Corral on the right side of the main stages where our promotions team will be manning the well-known Arizona Lottery prize wheel -- ready for you to spin for some great prizes.

And, the Lottery is pleased to offer players several opportunities to get free or discounted tickets for Country Thunder USA.

Head on over to the Gold Mine to learn how to get you free or discounted tickets.

Listed below are just a few of the many stars scheduled to appear:

Wednesday, Apr. 5: LeAnn Rimes and Trick Pony
Thursday, Apr. 6: Trace Adkins and Big & Rich with Cowboy Troy
Friday, Apr. 7: Randy Travis and Sawyer Brown
Saturday, April 8 Brooks & Dunn and Travis Tritt

A Win On Every Line

Louis Cooper Everyone dreams of purchasing an Arizona Lottery ticket that has the winning numbers. But what about a $5 The Pick ticket that has winning numbers on each and every line � including one with the winning jackpot numbers?

About three months ago, Louis Cooper, Tucson, began playing the Lottery again, after a brief hiatus, using some special numbers he liked and some suggested by a friend, who just happens to be a psychic. This friend also gave him a lucky stone that he wears around his neck.

Louis� five-line The Pick ticket had one line worth $40, two lines worth $1,000 each, one line worth $10,000 and one line was the jackpot worth $1 million � all this on one ticket! To the best of the Lottery�s knowledge, this ticket is truly one-of-a kind.

When Louis first took his ticket is to be scanned at the store, he and the clerk thought he had only won $10,000. It wasn�t until he arrived at the Lottery office in Tucson that he discovered that he had indeed won $10,000, plus a few other lines and, of course, the jackpot.

Having been a farmer most of his life, Louis knows the value of money and the importance of saving for a rainy day. His daughter said that �when me and my siblings were growing up, our parents would often do without so their children would have what they needed.�

After taking some time to think it over, Louis decided to take the cash option as opposed to the annuity and ended up with a check for $621,796 after taxes. He plans to invest his money after consulting with his financial advisor and may consider getting a �newer� car. In fact, according to his daughter, after he had collected his winnings from the Lottery he decided to treat himself to a new hat. However, it didn�t have to be fancy -- a hat from the local hardware store would do just fine.

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 fianc�e. 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 fianc�e 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.

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.

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.

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.

Arizona Lottery and Bashas� offers �The Deal of the Day�

Bashas' logo On your way to work � craving a donut � and thinking you need to stop and get a Lottery ticket? Grab your ABC15 smart shopper card and on Friday of this week, you can stop by Bashas� (see participating locations) at 8:00 a.m. and receive a $10 Arizona Lottery Scratchers ticket and a coupon for one dozen donuts for free! This offer is good for the first 50 customers at each participating Bashas location. (Note: You must have an ABC15 smart shopper card in order to receive the 'Deal of the Day.' They are available online at abc15.com or visit any UPS Store.)

Be sure to bring your sweet tooth and your lucky coin for the Scratchers ticket!

Bashas� participating locations:

9925 E. Baseline Rd. Mesa, AZ (Baseline & Crismon)
5115 N. Dysart Rd. Litchfield, AZ (Camelback & Dysart)
8035 E. Indian School Rd. Scottsdale, AZ (Indian School & Hayden)
1050 E. Pecos Rd. Chandler, AZ (Pecos & McQueen)
13940 W. Meeker Blvd. Sun City, AZ

Fantasy 5 with EXTRA!

Starting Monday, Feb. 6, you can get something EXTRA with Fantasy 5.

That�s right � the add-on feature EXTRA, which has been so popular with The Pick, is now available with Fantasy 5! With the addition of the EXTRA option, you could win up to $250 instantly.

For just $1 more, your Fantasy 5 with EXTRA ticket gives you the opportunity to get instant cash. That EXTRA $1 gives you five EXTRA numbers on your ticket. If any of those numbers match your Fantasy 5 numbers, you win $1, $2, $5, $10, $25, $50 or $250 instantly. The retailer will then validate your ticket, give you your instant cash and an exchange ticket with the exact same numbers you had on your winning Fantasy 5 with EXTRA ticket.

Next time you purchase your Fantasy 5 ticket, tell the retailer you want to purchase the EXTRA option or simply check the EXTRA selection box on your play slip. If you are playing more than one line on a ticket, specify how many EXTRA options you wish to play.

Try it out right now! Check out our new Fantasy 5 with EXTRA demonstration online. Visit the EXTRA section of our website (located on the right navigation) and click on Fantasy 5 EXTRA Demo.

Watch for the Fantasy 5 drawings Monday through Saturday at 10:25 p.m. on ABC15, the Lottery�s new television broadcast partner.

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.

Hop on Down for Powerball Easter Eggs

Plan to get up early and join the Arizona Lottery and Water and Ice Carwash for Powerball ticket-stuffed Easter eggs!

The special promotion takes place Wednesday, April 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Water and Ice Carwash, 4601 E. Chandler Blvd.

Toting a giant Easter basket, Lottery mascot Windfall Willie and the Lottery Promotions Team will be giving away colorful Easter eggs containing tickets for Wednesday night’s $220 million Powerball jackpot drawing.

Also on hand for the festivities will be a live remote broadcast by KNIX radio.

The $220 million Powerball jackpot ranks as the 7th largest in Powerball history and the 15th largest in world lottery history.

Be sure to be one of the first 100 people to arrive and get your Powerball-stuffed Easter egg!

Lottery Pool Wins $10,000

Charlotte Ferone, David Ruelas, Diane Canson About three years ago, the person in charge of the Lottery pool at a local construction company left the firm and there was no one to collect the money and purchase tickets. The remaining employees met and �volunteered� David Reulas for the job and he�s had it ever since.

The night of the Feb. 18 drawing, this Lottery pool of 40 won $10,000 -- their biggest win so far. Usually, any small wins they get, David simply redeems the tickets and adds the �extra� to the pot to buy additional tickets. Due to the size of this win, the pool opted to redeem the ticket and get their individual checks.

The group decided to play only the Powerball and every member of the pool puts in $5 for the Wednesday and Saturday draws � for a total purchase of 200 tickets. In addition, each member fills out a Powerball playslip with numbers of their choice and gives them to David. When it is time to buy tickets, he randomly selects 10 of the completed playslips and purchases 50 Powerball tickets. He usually purchases these tickets at a gas station near his home. The purchase of the remaining 150 Quick Pick tickets then becomes the responsibility of one of the other members of the pool. In this way, they never purchase tickets at the same store.

Once David has all the tickets, he goes to his computer and enters the number of players, numbers on the tickets and when the winning numbers become available, he enters those. Then his spreadsheet automatically checks the winning numbers against the ticket numbers he has entered. To double-check the tickets, he takes them to a store to be scanned. When David realized how much the pool had won, he immediately sent out an e-mail informing everyone. To say that everyone who read the e-mail was thrilled is an understatement � they were ecstatic.

The pool is ready for their next win and they are going to discuss purchasing the Power Play option to increase the amount of their winnings.

Return From The Price Is Right™!

A dream became a reality for Annette Bacher, Phoenix. Annette was one of two winners on May 14, 2005, of the Price is Right™ trip giveaway sponsored by the Arizona Lottery. She and her husband Ron left for their trip on Feb.6 and returned to Phoenix on Feb. 9 � and did they have a great time!

Annette and Ron arrived at their hotel, The Grafton on Sunset on Monday morning, Feb. 6, and were picked up by their limo driver at 2 p.m. They were then escorted to CBS Studios to see the 4 p.m. taping of The Price Is Right™ from their VIP seats. After a wonderful time at the studio and marveling at how well Bob Barker looked in person, they returned to their hotel which was located right in the heart of Hollywood.

Part of the prize package was $500 for expenses, so the next morning, they �cruised� Sunset Blvd. for a place to have breakfast and spotted Mel�s Diner. They stopped to eat, and so did heavyweight boxer, Evander Holyfield � as they say, timing is everything! The next day happened to be the night of the Grammy Awards. Their hotel was packed with musicians dressed to the nines waiting for their limos to take them to the awards � a great opportunity to see the �stars� up close and personal.

The House of Blues is located just steps away from the hotel and Annette and her husband wanted to see it. However, when they got there the sign said �closed�. Annette�s husband, Ron, looks like he�s one of the members of the rock group ZZ Top and evidently the curator thought so too, because she opened the door and asked them if they would like a personally guided tour. Annette quickly said yes and told her husband to �keep quiet and don�t say anything.� They enjoyed a great �private� tour.

On their last evening in town they wanted to dine at Da Vinci�s which is known to have been Dean Martin�s favorite haunt. They rented a car and were in the right area of Beverly Hills when they realized they were in the wrong lane. Annette rolled down her window and asked the driver of the car in the lane next to them if she would let them in � the driver said �of course� � it was actress Renee Russo. Annette made sure she told her how much she enjoyed her films.

Annette and Ron are glad to be back in Phoenix, but certainly have fond and interesting memories of their trip to Los Angeles and The Price Is Right™. They saw more �stars� in the few days they were in Los Angeles than most Los Angelinos. The Arizona Lottery is pleased to know it helped Annette�s dream come true.

Pima County Fair � a step back in time

If you are in the mood for fun promotions and great give-aways, the Arizona Lottery is the place to be at the Pima County Fair.

We�re thrilled to be back at the Fair from Thursday, April 20, through Sunday, April 30. Our booth and ticket truck are located at the northwest corner of the midway. You can�t miss us � just look for our 20 by 50-foot display featuring our 12-foot inflatable mascot, Windfall Willie!

And don�t be surprised if you see the real Windfall Willie make an occasional appearance.

This is the place to register to win a new Dodge Charger or a Ram 1500 truck. Ten of the 93 final entries will be chosen at the Pima County Fair. It�s also the place to purchase your Powerball, The Pick, Pick 3, Fantasy 5 and all of our latest Scratchers tickets.

When you purchase two of our new Hold �em Poker Scratchers tickets, our friendly staff will help you spin our famous 7-foot Lottery prize wheel for your favorite gift. Get ready for a good time and remember, �We got your ticket!�

Scratchers Ticket Worth $250,000

$250,000 Scratchers Ticket Rolls Out on Threshold of 25th Anniversary

The Arizona Lottery marks its 25th Anniversary next month, tallying nearly $2 billion in contributions to the state since its creation in 1981. Activities to commemorate the momentous occasion will be rolled out all year, starting with a mammoth-of-a-Scratchers ticket tied to a year-long publicity and promotions push.

Arizona’s first $250,000 Scratchers ticket—appropriately named $250,000 Jubilee—arrives at all Lottery retailers next week (click on the image to the left to see a larger picture - opens a pop up window). More than $33 million dollars in prizes are allocated to the $10 ticket, including multiple $250,000 cash prizes and one-of-kind prize opportunities for players, including the chance to participate in a ‘live’ television-aired instant second chance giveaway on New Year’s Eve, where $400,000 in cash prizes will be given away.

“This is an important year for us, and we want to recognize it with style,” said Evan Van Wagenen, Promotions and Advertising Manager at the Arizona Lottery. “The $250,000 Jubilee ticket alone is incredible and we knew that combining it with the live Jubilee cash giveaway events—the first of their kind in Arizona—would differentiate this ticket like nothing else could.” The Arizona Lottery will host one ‘live’ cash giveaway on New Year’s Eve and another over the summer in 2007 at locations to be announced soon. Ten lucky people will be qualified for each event, where one will walk away with $250,000 and six with $25,000 in cash. Of course, some lucky players could simply scratch-off and win $250,000 instantly. Either way, $250,000 Jubilee is sure to be the talk among players throughout the year. Players with the word ENTRY on their Jubilee ticket will be eligible to enter the drawing for a chance to be part of the live cash drawing events. Entries start on July 3.

An 8-foot symbolic Jubilee ticket will be on display at Fabulous Phoenix Fourth, a 4th of July event in downtown Phoenix next week—also the first stop along a year-long 25-town tour to mark the Lottery’s 25th Anniversary. A full tour schedule will be available later this month. Each tour stop will be packed with Lottery fun. Players throughout Arizona will have a chance to meet the Lottery’s own mascot, Windfall Willie, scratch the giant traveling Jubilee ticket for a chance at prizes and Lottery merchandise as well as purchase Lottery tickets, including the $250,000 Jubilee.

Multiply Your Excitement with Powerball Power Play 10X

Burchfields 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!

Arizona Lottery Sponsors Pack to School Drive

Pack to School Supply list Round and round the wheel goes, spinning for the benefit of Arizona�s school children. Have some fun, and get a free gift, courtesy of your Arizona Lottery.

The Governor's Office has asked all state agencies to participate in the 2008 Pack to School Drive. This drive is to help insure that all school-age children start their school year with supplies that will help them succeed throughout the year. To help garner public participation, your Arizona Lottery is sponsoring a special Pack to School Drive promotion.

Bring in any new school supply to either the Phoenix or Tucson Lottery Office and receive a spin on the prize wheel. Examples of some items to bring are; notebooks, backpacks, paper, crayons, pencils, etc. Prizes on the wheel are:

We Got Your Ticket Scratchers Ticket
Sun Tan Lotion
Jotter Pad with Pen
Water Bottle
CD Case

Promotion dates and times are as follows:
Phoenix Office -- Monday, July 14, 10:00 a.m. � 1:00 p.m.
4740 E. University Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85034

Tucson Office � Thursday, July 17, 10:00 a.m. � 1:00 p.m.
4010 E. Grant Road
Tucson, AZ 85712

We look forward to seeing you at our special promotion and the children thank you in advance for your support.

A Million Dollar Chance for Mother's Day

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 Ra

The Big Prize