Benefiting Idaho public schools and buildings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  CONTACT: David Workman

Tuesday, December 12, 2006  (208) 334-2600

Retired Magic Valley Couple Wins $200,000

Kimberly – A retired couple from Hansen, Idaho got an unexpected surprise last Thursday night when they discovered they held a winning ticket for $200,000 from the previous night’s Powerball draw. “We were freaked out!” exclaimed an excited Susie Bradshaw.

Susie and her husband Bernie play $5 each on Powerball every Wednesday and Saturday night. On Thursday and Sunday nights, they pull out the Times-News to check the numbers on their tickets. “I write down the winning numbers from the paper on a pad,” explained a delighted Bernie, a retired snow plow driver from Salmon. “Then I read them to Susie.”

“He started reading me the numbers on his pad as I was checking the tickets,” described a thrilled Susie. “Well he was reading the same numbers I had on one of my tickets and I told him to stop reading me the numbers on my ticket and read me the numbers from the paper. When he said he was reading the numbers from the paper I started jumping around screaming ‘Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!”

The next day they saw reports in the media that the winning ticket was sold at Ridley’s Food and Drug in Jerome.  They took their ticket back to the Ridley’s Food and Drug in Kimberly, where they bought the ticket and had it verified.  They were instructed to contact the Idaho Lottery Headquarters in Boise. 

“Our retailers have unique identifying numbers and when the winning ticket was reported to us one number was left out. This led us to originally believe the ticket was sold in Jerome,” explained David Workman, Idaho Lottery spokesman.

The newlywed couple of three years said they didn’t get a lot of sleep over the weekend as they planned their visit to Boise after checking the ticket and the numbers a few times. “We signed the back of the ticket and then left it lying on the dining room table all weekend,” confessed Susie, who ran the Hansen Elementary School cafeteria for 34 years before retiring.

The couple does not have any immediate plans for the $134,400 they received after taxes. “All our Christmas presents are already bought,” said Susie. “I think we’ll just stick this in a rat hole for a rainy day.”

Ridley’s Food and Drug will receive a bonus check from the Idaho Lottery for $20,000.

This is the second $200,000 winner in the Magic Valley since late August when Twin Falls resident Linda Wilson won at Mr. Gas on Blue Lakes Boulevard.

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