Friendly store owner and an unusual choice of ticket led to his big win
Olympia, Wash. (November 13, 2023) – When Renton resident Charles was out late at night with friends, he decided to stop by Highlands Food Mart. Although the store usually only provides window-service at that time of night, the owner recognized Charles and let him in. While inside, Charles was able to take a closer look at the lottery tickets available, and he decided to purchase a Loteria Super Grande Scratch ticket, a game he usually never plays. He would soon realize that this unusual choice of ticket led to him winning the game’s top prize of $500,000.
Charles was with a friend when he scratched his ticket early the next morning. Both he and his friend’s immediate reaction was saying “that’s not possible.” Together, they double checked the ticket using the Washington’s Lottery app and saw that Charles did in fact win half-a-million dollars.
Afterwards, Charles went to his sister’s house to have her triple check the ticket. When she confirmed he had won big, they both looked up what time the nearest Lottery Regional Office opened so they could go and claim his prize.
Charles plans to give his sister half of his winnings, and even joked that she was lucky to have won so much money while she was sleeping. With the rest of the money, he plans to put some away into savings accounts for his daughters, and then the rest into his business.
Washington’s Lottery offers
Scratch games priced between $1 and $30, each with varying prize amounts. The number of actual prizes available in a game may vary based on the number of tickets printed, tested, distributed, sold, and number of prizes claimed.
Making a Difference in Washington State
Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $5.0 billion to support several important state programs, including providing much-needed funds for the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA). In FY22, WOPA received $176.6 million from the Lottery, enough to pay college tuition for more than 9,900 Washington residents. It also provided approximately 25% of the annual budget for the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, which provides critical services to more than 15,000 children at 440 locations across Washington.
Washington’s Lottery Beneficiary Fact
Washington’s Lottery is very proud to be a financial supporter of the state’s Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program (ECEAP). The $40 million annual investment the lottery makes in ECEAP has lasting effects. Children who participate in ECEAP are more likely to be kindergarten-ready than non-participants, and those who participate five or more hours per day are especially prepared in reading and math.* Children in state-funded pre-K programs like ECEAP see long-lasting positive effects, including increased grade progression, high school graduation and college enrollment.**
About Washington’s Lottery: The state’s Lottery offers consumers several types of games, including Mega Millions, Powerball, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, Pick 3, Cash POP, Daily Keno and Scratch. For more information, visit www.walottery.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @walottery.
Keep it fun. Know your limit. Washington’s Lottery is an advocate for responsible gaming and collaborates with the Evergreen Council for Problem Gambling to provide resources for those in need. More information is available at www.walottery.com/Responsibility.
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Press Contacts
Dan Miller (Curator on behalf of Washington’s Lottery)
E-mail: dan.miller@curatorpr.com
Xiamara Garza (Curator on behalf of Washington’s Lottery)
E-mail: xiamara.garza@curatorpr.com
* Early Learning Feedback Report. https://erdc.wa.gov/data-dashboards/early-learning-feedback-report-0
** Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood. (n.d.). Boston universal pre-K. Retrieved June 9, 2021, from https://www.bpsearlylearning.org/boston-upk