TREASURE VALLEY
Wednesday, May 30 was a special day for Ella Morgan. Not because she won $50,000 on the Scratch Game Aces and 8s that day, but because it would have been her grandmother’s 98th birthday. A regular Lottery player, Ella went to the Jacksons on Karcher Road in Nampa that morning just like she always does, bought, and then won the first top prize of $50,000 on Aces and 8s.
“Couldn’t have been a better day for this,” said Ella who has her grandmother’s birthday tattooed on her right calf. “Can’t win if you don’t play. And I won today.”
Ella plans to pay some bills, support her family, and possibly invest a little in some real estate with her winnings.
NORTHERN IDAHO
It is a very long way from Fairbanks, Alaska to Lewiston and Orofino, but for Beulah Dahlin the trip was worth making – especially when she won $30,000 on Black Cat Bingo. There is no state Lottery in Alaska, but when Beulah visits her family in the Clearwater Valley area, she always plays.
“I had not had any luck at all playing in Oregon. So when I got to Lewiston, I saw the black cat game. Usually a black cat is bad luck but since I had not had any luck, I thought why not,” said Beulah. “I bought two. The first one did not win, but the second one did.”
Beulah handed the clerk the ticket to check it and he told her she needed to visit Boise because it was a big winner. Then she thought she’d only won $520, but the clerk told her he could pay that claim. This was larger and she needed to visit Boise. Another 270 miles and $30,000 later, Beulah claimed her prize.
The Black Cat Bingo winning ticket was sold at Stinker Store in north Lewiston.
MAGIC VALLEY
Burley’s Bonnie James dropped by the Lottery offices in mid-May with what she thought was a Mega Millions ticket worth $10,000. Her ticket matched four of the first five numbers and had matched the Megaball. But what she went home with was twice as nice!
It turns out James had purchased the Megaplier feature, which turned her $10,000 winner into a $20,000 winner.
She bought her winning ticket at Mr. Gas on Overland in Burley. James is excited to put her winnings toward a down payment on a house.
EASTERN IDAHO
It must be Megaplier month in Idaho. Brett Judkins of Idaho Falls won $40,000 on a Mega Millions ticket her purchased from the Maverik on the corner of Sunnyside and Highway 26 – the Yellowstone Highway.
Judkins’s ticket matched four of the first five numbers and the Megaball, plus it had the Megaplier feature. Megaplier is an additional $1 per play at the time of purchase and multiplies non-jackpot winning tickets up to as much as $5 million. By matching four of the first five and the Megaball, Judkins’ $10,000 winner became a $40,000 winner when the Megaplier of 4 was selected.