Ray Bachman and his wife are two lucky bugs. Literally. Married for 35 years, the couple had been inseparable until this past spring when Ray’s wife became ill and spent 29 days in the hospital.
“That was really hard for us. When I’d go hunting fishing, or camping, she’d come with me. We were inseparable,” Ray told the Lottery. “Not just being away from each other, but we also have mounting medical bills.”
Ray’s wife has always been a regular lottery player. But after she made a recovery and returned to work, she had to change stores from her usual location on her way to work because it is undergoing reconstruction and is currently closed for a remodel. Instead, she went to the Stinker Store on Garrity in Nampa. The day before Ray claimed the prize, she purchased the winning Lucky Bug Cashword ticket, played it during her lunch break, and thought she had won $1,000!
Excited, she called her husband. When he got the ticket and looked it over, they had just one question: “How many words do we have?” Turns out she had missed a letter and had won $50,000!
Adorned in his Idaho Lottery 35th Anniversary t-shirt, he claimed the winning prize for he and his bride with the plan to pay off their medical expenses.
For Ray, he’s just happy his wife made a full recovery and the two were back together again.
