Elusive Pacific Northwest legend follows Seattle winner from choice of game to prize claim
Olympia, WA (August 26, 2026) – A Sasquatch may be notoriously hard to spot, but Seattle resident Justin P. recently had no trouble finding one worth $50,000.
Justin, a regular Scratch player, typically stops at the 7-Eleven near his apartment and spends $20 on four $5 tickets. When that location was sold out of the games he wanted that day, he decided to walk to another 7-Eleven nearby.
On the way, one thought kept running through his mind: “I’m getting a winner today.”
That feeling stayed with Justin when he reached the store, so he decided to change things up by doubling his usual purchase to $40 and walking away with eight tickets.
When Justin got back to his apartment, he scratched all eight tickets to check for matching numbers and found three winners. He then took those three and scratched to reveal the prize amounts. The first two were worth $5 each. When he scratched the third, a Sasquatchin’ Bucks ticket, he saw a “5” and assumed he had another $5 winner. It wasn’t until he kept scratching that he realized that “5” had a few zeros after it and he had won $50,000.
Justin plans to put his winnings away into savings, with hopes of one day purchasing his dream car, a Nissan Skyline.
In the meantime, Justin found another way to mark the occasion. Just days before his win, Justin’s mom came to town and they spotted a Sasquatch t-shirt while out shopping together. After winning the top prize playing Sasquatchin’ Bucks, Justin went back to buy the shirt so he could wear it when he claimed his winnings at the Everett Regional Office of Washington’s Lottery.
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. Players can find Washington’s Lottery retail locations here. Players can find Washington’s Lottery retail locations here.
Who Benefits
Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $5.7 billion to support several important state programs. The Lottery’s primary beneficiary is the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA), which provides much-needed funding for programs including early childhood education, the WA Grant and College Bound program, Washington Award for Vocational Excellence, and more. These programs help provide critical services and support to thousands of Washington residents each year and help improve their lives.
Beneficiary Fact
Washington’s Lottery is proud to be a financial supporter of the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), which administers state financial aid programs. WSAC leads a variety of initiatives to increase educational opportunities for students, families, and educators across the state, with a particular focus on increasing equity by reaching communities of color and students from low-income families. The Lottery also proudly supports the state’s Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program (ECEAP), a state-funded pre-K program that helps children become kindergarten-ready by building early skills in reading, math and science. The program works closely with parents to support their children’s health and education.
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-Urbieta (Curator on behalf of Washington’s Lottery)
E-mail: xiamara.garza@curatorpr.com