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Utah Trio "Safely" Claims $1,000,000 Powerball Winning Ticket

BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô The winners holding the Powerball ticket worth $1,000,000 that was sold in Franklin County, Idaho last week were taking absolutely no chances on arriving safely in Boise at Idaho Lottery headquarters. On Monday morning, sisters Carol Olsen and Cindy Flint, accompanied by their mother Donna Flint, arrived in the Idaho Lottery Winner's Lobby with their big winning ticket securely stowed inside a locked, portable, fireproof safe.

"I was not going to let this safe, or the ticket out of my sight," confessed Cindy. "I even kept the safe in bed with me last night when I slept in my hotel room."

"We've heard a lot of interesting places that people have kept their winning tickets over the years," said David Workman, Idaho Lottery spokesman. "Mattresses, sock drawers, refrigerator-freezers, but the portable, fireproof safe was a first."

Last Wednesday, the trio matched all five numbers, but not the Powerball number itself on a winning ticket sold at La Tienda, in Franklin, Idaho along the Idaho-Utah border. This ticket had the Power Play option, a choice made for $1 extra at the time of purchase, and became worth $1,000,000 automatically, much to the surprise of the three-some from Brigham City, Utah.

"I thought my ticket was only worth $600,000," explained Flint. "When they told me it was worth a million dollars, I thought I was going to be sick."

Flint and her sister are no strangers to winning big on Powerball. In June 2008, the pair won $40,000 on a Powerball Powerplay ticket that was also sold at La Tienda.

"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."

This go around, though, the three-some had specific, life planning options ahead. The three are planning to meet with an accountant first, but then Carol is planning to pay off her house, Cindy is going to put it aside for retirement or the "just-in-case fund" due to the economy, and Donna is planning on getting two scooters, a tractor for her farm, and putting the rest into her retirement funds.

La Tienda, the Idaho Lottery retailer in Franklin that sold the $1,000,000 winning ticket, will receive a bonus of $25,000.

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CONTACT: David Workman
(208) 334-2600