As the second decade of the new millennia drew to a close and as the new one begins, it was an opportunity for us to look back on some of the best stories of the last ten years. And there have been many of them, full of happiness, joy, surprises, and excitement. Here are our best, top ten moments of the past decade at the Idaho Lottery.
10 - University of Utah HVAC Shop Wins $1,000,000 Powerball Prize in 2013
It’s not every day that a bus load of winners show up in the parking lot at the Idaho Lottery to claim a $1,000,000 Powerball prize. But that is exactly what happened in February 2013 when 34 employees from the University of Utah’s HVAC Shop on campus became the largest group to ever split a $1,000,000 prize in Idaho. The group chartered a “fun bus” to bring them collectively from the parking lot of Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City to Idaho Lottery offices in Boise. The contingent collected their winnings while chanting “Go Utes” and a chorus of “Utah Man!” Many in the group from the HVAC Shop are long time employees of the University of Utah, some working on campus facilities for over 30 years.
9 - 25th Anniversary Celebrated with Live Powerball drawing from Stampede Rodeo in Nampa in 2014
The Idaho Lottery celebrated its 25th anniversary on Saturday, July 19, 2014 by hosting a LIVE nationally televised Powerball draw from the Snake River Stampede Rodeo in Nampa at 8:59 p.m. Mountain Time. Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson announced the white ball numbers during the broadcast. Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and First Lady Lori Otter announced the Powerball number. Legendary rodeo announcer Boyd Polhamus opened the broadcast that was hosted by KTVB News Channel 7’s Mark Johnson. At the time, the draw was witnessed by the largest live audience (everyone at the rodeo that night) in Powerball history.
8 - $1,000,000 Winning Powerball Ticket from Bonner County Claimed by Mail in 2015
It all came down to trust back in November 2015. Trust, faith, and integrity in the system by those who use it. Mailing in winning Idaho Lottery tickets is a common practice for many players who live in northern Idaho. The Idaho Lottery, though had never received a ticket worth $1,000,000 through the US Postal Service until Randy Branum, a regular player from Sandpoint did what he had done every other month for many years – mail in a batch of winning tickets, both Scratch and Draw Games, for payment.
“I usually wait a month or two, sign all the tickets I have, and then mail them in,” explained Branum, a retired contractor who usually checks carefully for winners. “This time I had two or three tickets left and just signed them and sent them off. I figured there might be some $7 winners in there.”
When the package arrived at the Idaho Lottery, the tickets were verified for winners by Idaho Lottery Security. That’s when they discovered the two month old, $1,000,000 winning ticket signed by Branum. The Idaho Lottery immediately contacted Branum.
“When they called, I thought I’d maybe won the trip to see Boise State’s Bowl Game,” said Branum of the initial call from Idaho Lottery Security. “Instead they told me I’d won $1,000,000. I couldn’t talk.”
“I put my faith in the Idaho Lottery and the US mail that when I send my tickets, they are going to a safe place,” said Branum about the Idaho Lottery’s integrity. “I trusted them with a $1,000,000 winning ticket and they were honest about it.”
7 - Idaho Lottery Recognized as Nation’s Best Lottery in 2013
The Idaho Lottery received nationwide recognition for their achievements during Fiscal Year 2013. The Idaho Lottery was named the 2013 recipient of Public Gaming Research Institute’s “Sharon Sharp Good Causes Award” which recognizes lotteries who have achieved the highest percentage increase in net funds contributed to its beneficiaries, the true measure of a lottery’s success. The leading Lottery industry associations, Public Gaming Research Institute and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) awarded the Idaho Lottery for our $48.2 million dividend returned to the citizens of the Gem State in July of 2013 and our 16.14% increase in net funding for Public Education and the Permanent Building Fund over the previous year, the highest percentage increase that year over all 45 lottery jurisdictions operating in the United States.
6 - Flint Sisters “Safely” Claim $1,000,000 prize in 2010
It was right before Christmas, early December of 2010 when Cindy and Donna Flint, and their sister Carol Olsen arrived in the lobby of the Idaho Lottery carrying their big winning ticket securely stowed inside a locked, portable, fireproof safe. On top of that, all three of these retirees were legally carrying their concealed firearms. They weren’t taking any chances with the winning $1,000,000 Powerball ticket inside the safe. Cindy even slept with the safe in her hotel room bed the night before claiming the prize. No strangers to winning, Cindy and Donna had won a $40,000 Powerball prize two years before. “That money, well, it went down the sewer and out the vents,” laughed Cindy. “I replaced all the plumbing under the house and bought a new furnace and air conditioner!”
5 - World Record, Billion Dollar Powerball Jackpot Run in January 2016
Business as usual went right out the door in January 2016 when the Powerball jackpot eclipsed the three-quarter-of-a-billion dollar mark for the first time. But the jackpot didn’t stop there. When the jackpot officially set a new world-record, at $800 million, and then crossed the billion dollar threshold, our “Wooh!” celebrations turned into a “Whoa!” moment. The epic Powerball jackpot run that would eventually reach $1.586 billion saw long lines of players waiting to purchase their tickets all over Idaho. In uncharted territory, the Lottery dispatched the Wooh Crew to work with the hour-plus lines at stores in Malad and Franklin along Idaho’s border with Utah. We even contracted to bring in portable restroom facilities for those stores with lines that snaked through the aisles inside, out the back doors, and around their buildings. When the dust settled, the lengthy world-record jackpot run generated $8 million in dividends for Idaho’s public schools and buildings – just from Powerball.
4 - Idaho Wins National Award for Best New Draw Game and Best New Scratch Game in the Same Year in 2019
At the end of September 2019, during the North American State and Provincial Lottery Association’s (NASPL) Annual Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Idaho Lottery was recognized with two of the Lottery industry’s highest accolades, Innovation Awards for the Best New Scratch Game and the Best New Draw Game during the past Fiscal Year.
The awards are voted on by the Idaho Lottery’s peers in the industry and mark one of the highest achievements a Lottery can attain. Both awards distinguish efforts made to create and communicate the innovative attributes of new Scratch and Draw style games. The draw game winner was our Powerball Arcade, its online games, and its weekly, monthly, and twice-annual big prizes that were an instant success among players. The Best New Instant Game was the entire family of Scratch games offered for the Idaho Lottery’s 30th Anniversary. With the introduction of a new ticket worth $30, the Lottery felt everyone should be able to participate, so we offered a $5 version and a $10 version to fit every player and budget.
3 - Hilda Floyd Wins $1,000,000 on Raffle, then Donates Winnings to Support Families of Service Men and Women Overseas in 2011
In January 2011, the generosity of the Idaho Lottery’s annual winner of the Idaho $1,000,000 may have been overshadowed by the media exposure of the winner who makes #2 on our list. But Hilda Floyd’s thoughtfulness in Idaho and her efforts after winning a million dollars should not be overlooked or forgotten.
“I have it all planned out. I am going to take care of few things for me then I’m going to take care of my family and my church,” explained Floyd who became the Idaho Lottery’s 25th millionaire the day she claimed her $1,000,000 Raffle prize. “Giving it away excites me more than anything else.”
And true to her word, that’s exactly what she did. After taking care of a few items for herself, Floyd went on to donate most of her winnings and do charitable works, especially for the families of service men and women who were serving overseas. She even hosted a tribute dinner to share her successes with the Idaho Air National Guard and participated as a great, positive story on the TLC reality show, “How the Lottery Changed My Life.”
2 - Holly Lahti Wins $190 on Mega Millions in 2011
It was literally the runaway story of the decade. Holly Lahti became the Idaho Lottery’s second largest jackpot winner in history in January 2011 from a $5 quick pick Mega Millions ticket purchased in Post Falls. At the time, she split one of the largest jackpots in lottery history with a family in central Washington. But it was the untold story of Lahti’s win that would go on to capture the attention of the national media for three straight weeks, sparking dialogue, discussion, and debate while the media waited for her make a public appearance. Producers from the Today Show and Good Morning America camped on the Idaho Lottery’s couches in the lobby for two weeks hoping and waiting for her to appear to claim her ticket. National news, all of Idaho’s local news stations, talk radio, talk television shows, local newscasts from coast to coast, the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Oprah all inquired or covered the story. For her own personal reasons, Lahti never spoke publicly about her win in 2011 despite efforts to reach her from ABC National News, CBS National News, NBC National News, Good Morning America, CNN, the Today Show, Fox and Friends, the Associated Press, and Reuters. In a three week period in January 2011 it seemed like we had been managing a wildfire with a water pistol as the Idaho Lottery and this story received 437.4 million television impressions nationwide. On January 21, 2011, Lahti elected the one-time cash option for her prize and quietly withdrew from the public spotlight.
1 - 30th Anniversary – State and Guinness World Records on the Same Day in 2019
The biggest news of the decade though, came at during the Idaho Lottery’s 30th Anniversary celebration on July 19, 2019. Thirty years. Three decades of winning and three decades of benefits. On this day, the Idaho Lottery established a new state record for the largest dividend ever returned to the people of Idaho at $60 million. Later that day, the Idaho Lottery would go on to establish a new Guinness World Records for the largest gathering of people scratching scratch tickets in one place at one time. The record was 479, breaking a record that had only been set a few days before in the Netherlands. But beyond the world record is perhaps the biggest, most important record – the Lottery’s past ten year history of responsible growth and dividend delivery to the State of Idaho and her citizens. In the last ten years, the Idaho Lottery has returned $468.7 million – 52% of the total in dividend dollars returned to Idaho in our 30 year history.
Thank you, Idaho, for 10 great years! Here’s looking forward to the next decade of success, excitement, and winning for everyone. Happy New Year!!
