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Kennewick $2 Million Powerball Winner Claims Prize

Lucky Hanford worker added Power Play option, which doubled the winnings

OLYMPIA: The first Powerball winner to purchase the Power Play option and win since the game changed to $2 a ticket in January stepped forward today after a week of mystery surrounding his identity. Rodney Worthington, 33, of Kennewick claimed his $2 million check today after a routine trip to the grocery store changed his life forever.

"Every weekend I go grocery shopping and check my tickets," Rodney explained. "This time, I checked it, and a two with a ton of zeros came up on the screen! I had to ask the clerk to check and make sure I wasn't imagining things."

Rodney had not heard about the local winner that had yet to come forward. His co-worker from the Hanford Vitrification Plant was with him when he checked his ticket and told him about the story that ran in a local newspaper over the weekend.

This is the first time Rodney has hit it big with the Lottery, but he always purchases the Powerball Power Play option and it paid off in a big way – an extra $1 million! Rodney isn't the only one benefitting from this win, though. He plans to share the prize with his brother, who gave him a few dollars to buy tickets. With his portion, Rodney is going to pay off bills and plan for the future, but in the meantime will "buy a couple of toys, for sure."

Rodney purchased his winning ticket at the Fred Meyer near his house, where he buys groceries every weekend. The store, located at 2811 West 10th Avenue in Kennewick, will receive a retail selling bonus of $10,000.


WASHINGTON'S LOTTERY: Since 1982, Washington's Lottery has generated more than $2.5 billion to support important state programs including the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. Money in the Pathways Account goes toward helping students achieve their higher education dreams and supports early childhood education learning programs. The state's Lottery offers consumers several types of games: Mega Millions, Powerball, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, Daily Game, Daily Keno and Scratch. For more information, visit www.walottery.com or join our online community on Facebook at www.facebook.com/walottery and follow us on Twitter @walottery.


Contact:Amanda Whitver
(Edelman PR on behalf of Washington's Lottery)
Office: (206) 268-2288
Amanda.Whitver@edelman.com

Contact: Arlen Harris
(Communications, Washington’s Lottery)
Office: (360) 664-4808
Cell: (360) 790-7087
aharris@walottery.com

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