FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, September 17, 2009

CONTACT: David Workman         

(208) 334-2600

Dream Comes True for Mary Lou!

Buhl Woman Wins $20,000 on Powerball, Jackpot at $111 Million

Boise – Yes, Mary Lou, dreams really do come true.  Last night while Mary Lou Pierce of Buhl was sleeping, she had a dream that her Powerball PowerPlay ticket matched four numbers and the Powerball. In the dream she believed she’d won $50. As an early to bed, early to rise person most of her life, Mary Lou awoke around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, September 17 after her dream and decided to check her tickets to see if she had won.

“I go to bed around 6 p.m. in the evening and have always gotten up early in the morning. It’s usually when I do my baking for the day so I can do other things when the sun comes up,” explained the retired telephone worker of 25 years. “Last night I got on my computer to check my Powerball tickets.  It was the last one I checked and I saw that I’d matched four numbers AND the Powerball! My dream was real!”

Mary Lou had to wait another three-and-a-half hours before Jacksons Korner in Buhl was open so she could double check her winning ticket.  “Five o’clock couldn’t come fast enough,” said an excited Mary Lou.

Once the store was open, the clerk checked Mary Lou’s ticket, informed her she’d won $20,000 and that she needed to go to Boise to claim her winnings. “The Wonder Bread man was in the store at the time and when he heard I won on the Lottery, he asked me to marry him,” said a giddy Mary Lou with a wide, friendly smile before she added with a wink, “I told him he was too old for me.  He was maybe 40.”

Mary Lou was one of two $20,000 Powerball PowerPlay winners in Idaho.   She matched four of last night’s 5 white balls, and the Powerball which is usually a $10,000 winner.  Being a regular and savvy player, Mary Lou had the PowerPlay option on her ticket, which for one additional dollar multiplies all prizes of $10,000 or less by two to five times. Last night’s PowerPlay number was 2, turning her $10,000 win into a $20,000 windfall.

The second Powerball PowerPlay $20,000 winning ticket was sold in Elmore County. It has not been claimed. In total, there were 8,760 Idaho Powerball winners who won $81,430 in prizes from last night’s draw. The winning numbers were 17, 37, 40, 51, 56 and the Powerball was 25.

The estimated jackpot for Saturday night’s draw is $111 million.  The Wild Card jackpot is also over $1,000,000. Wild Card is played in only four states, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.  Players have until 7:55 p.m. Mountain Time Saturday, September 19, 2009 to purchase a ticket for the draws.

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The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Scratch™ tickets, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund. Since it’s inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold more than $1.8 billion in products, awarded over $1.1 billion in prizes to players, returned more than $108 million in retail commissions, and distributed more than $437 million in Lottery dividends to state public schools and buildings. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.