It's not every day anyone can say they've become an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS holder. But that is exactly what the Idaho Lottery did on July 19, 2019 during our 30th Anniversary Celebration event in downtown Boise. The Idaho Lottery is the official GUINENESS WORLDS RECORDS title holder for the Largest gathering of people scratching scratch cards.
The idea to pursue the record germinated on a bitterly cold, January afternoon during a walk through Boise's BoDo District that started with a simple question, "Wonder if there's a record for the most people in one place scratching tickets at the time same and what is it?" Once the fingers thawed and a quick google search later, we discovered there was a record and it was only 336 people.
We worked closely with GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS throughout the entire process to develop the Official Attempt Scratch Ticket for use during the 30th Anniversary Event itself, and to make sure we followed all the guidelines necessary to break the record.
In late May, we realized our first potential hurdle to setting the record. Garth Brooks announced a second concert date for Albertsons Stadium: Friday night, July 19, 2019 at 7 pm. Only 55 minutes after our attempt was scheduled to take place. We viewed this news not as a setback, but an opportunity to make our gathering close to the river the "pre-party" before the concert. In fact, many people who participated with us that night left immediately for the concert.
On July 17, 2019, just two days before our attempt at the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title, startling news raced through the Idaho Lottery Headquarters when we learned the record we'd been working to break for six months had just been broken by the previous record holder at a big gaming trade show, the "iGBLive iGaming Super Show" in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Fortunately, they only raised the bar to 386 people. Still not insurmountable.
Typically in July, the sun is scorching with triple degree heat and stagnant winds. This year, the weather favored us, with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80's on the night of the event and a nice, light, northwest breeze.
The crowds gathered, we put everyone in from across Idaho in front of the main stage and at 6:05 pm under the countdown of KTVB's Melissa Paul and Mark Johnson, a gathering of 479 people scratched their official scratch tickets to break and set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for Largest gathering of people scratching scratch cards.
The mood was as celebratory then as it is now. Not everyone can say they're official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS holders, but there are 479 people and one lottery who can. To achieve this feat, the Idaho Lottery worked closely with a lot of terrific Idaho businesses, including:
- KTVB in Boise
- KPVI in Pocatello
- Impact Radio Group in the Treasure Valley
- Lee Family Broadcasting in the Magic Valley
- Sandhill Radio Group in eastern Idaho
- McVey Entertainment (KOZE) in the Clearwater Valley
- Radio Spokane in northern Idaho
Not to mention all the people who took the time on a Friday afternoon and evening to celebrate 30 great years of the Idaho Lottery in the Gem State.
So what does it take to become a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS holder? A dream, commitment, support from your community, and whole lot of help from your friends.
Thank you, Idaho, for helping us celebrate our 30th Anniversary to become an official GUINNESS WOLRD RECORDS holders!
P.S.: On Thursday evening, August 15, 2019, after our BIG news announcement, NBC's The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon inaccurately reported that Ohio set the record. After several posts and tweets on the subject to set the record straight, Ohio has declared they may not have the World Record, but they do have the fastest scratcher. Maybe Mr. Fallon could host an Idaho-Ohio Scratch-off contest on his show? We like Idaho's chances.
