If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it fall, did the tree actually make a sound? This age old riddle has been the subject of philosophical and scientific debate for centuries. The same question then can apply to playing and winning the Lottery. If a player wins a big prize and no one knows about it, did the prize actually get won?
Just like the tree, eventually someone sees the tree is toppled over, but they never heard it crash through the canopy on its way to the forest floor. The same goes for Lottery winners, especially in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic when Lottery offices are closed to the public. Just like now, if you’re reading this you’re probably not in the forest to hear a tree fall, but one may have fallen. So it goes with our Lottery winners. Just because you may not have heard the winning “Wooh!” in the store recently, does not mean an absence of winners. Despite fewer trips to the stores, players are still playing and they are still winning. In fact, this week alone, the Lottery paid out $2,159,597 in prizes. This includes thirteen taxable prizes worth $645,612 that were delivered to Lottery Offices in Boise either through the US Mail or hand delivered to the Lottery’s secure drop box.
In particular, Dennis Williamson from Coeur d’Alene won $200,000 on Pharaoh’s Fortune. His winning ticket was purchased from the A&D Mini Mart in Coeur d’Alene. His ticket arrived through the trusted delivery of the United States Postal Service and will be returned the same way.
Boisean Scott Noriyuki dropped off his big winning ticket at the Lottery Office’s drop box in Boise. Scott claimed the final top prize of $50,000 on the teal-colored version of the Scratch Game, Power 5. He bought his winning ticket from a Jacksons Food Store in Garden City.
And then, Idaho City resident Vince Betcher also brought his winning ticket to the Lottery Offices and used the secured drop box. Vince is the single largest jackpot winner in Idaho Cash’s three-year history, claiming a prize of $381,000. And it was all done without ever being face-to-face with anyone from the Idaho Lottery. In fact, the closest he got to a Lottery representative was the front end Store Manager at the Winco in Eagle where he bought his winning ticket.
The question really remains, how often when hiking in the woods have you ever seen a tree actually fall? More often you’ll see the result, a tree fallen on the path or close to it. And the same with this week’s Lottery winners. There will never be a celebratory photo of them, that signature pose with the souvenir check. And they never will have spent a single minute in Customer Service waiting for their winnings. But for Dennis, Scott, and Vince, they know they are winners.
