Benefiting Idaho public schools and buildings

 

 

IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         CONTACT: David Workman

Thursday, March 15, 2007                                                                                         (208) 334-2600

 

 

$1 Million Ticket Turned Over to Courts for Decision

 

Boise – Today, the Idaho Lottery announced a preliminary resolution regarding the $1 million winning Powerball/PowerPlay ticket from last Saturday night’s $142 million draw.

 

On the advice of counsel, this afternoon the Idaho Lottery filed an Interpleader Complaint with the 4^th District Court in Ada Countyasking the court to determine rightful ownership of the winning ticket.

 

“We have an obligation to pay the winning ticket and we intend to do so,” announced Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director during a press conference at Lottery Headquarters in Boise. “After completing our initial investigation and on the advice of counsel, it is has been determined that we must turn this matter over to the courts.”

 

The winning ticket was produced prior to the draw Saturday, March 10, 2007 at the Maverik Store located at 8561 W. State Street in Boise.  The ticket was produced incorrectly for a customer who refused it and ordered a different Powerball purchase.

 

“When a ticket is produced, that ticket is the responsibility of the retailer. It can not be canceled,” explained Anderson. “Our retailers are licensed to sell those tickets to players. Once a ticket is generated, the retailer is responsible to pay the Lottery for that ticket.”

 

Authorized retailers are allowed to transfer ownership of Lottery tickets through player purchases. A ticket not sold before the Powerball draw closes at 7:59 p.m. each Wednesday and Saturday night, remains the responsibility of the retailer. It appears the ticket that was apparently generated in error had not been sold by this time.

 

 

- MORE -

 

PAGE 2

 

Four parties have filed claims for the winning ticket.  Michelle McCollough, Boise, is the Maverik Store clerk who worked at the store on Sunday morning and discovered the unsold winning ticket. She paid Maverik $20 for the ticket and filed her claim jointly with the Maverik Store Director, Greg Dennler, Caldwell, who also worked Sunday morning. The pair presented the ticket for payment on Monday morning to Lottery Officials in Boise agreeing to split the prize. Christie Wade, Boise, the Maverik Store clerk who produced the ticket, apparently in error, has also filed a claim. The fourth claimant is Maverik Stores, a Wyoming business licensed to sell lottery products in Idaho.

 

Rigorous Idaho Lottery security measures are in place to protect the integrity of our games, particularly for large winning prizes in its Lotto games such as Powerball and Wild Card. These procedures began when it was confirmed the Idaho Lottery had produced the $1 million winning ticket.

 

On Monday morning, detectives in the Idaho Lottery enforcement division received information that began the current, on-going investigation.  On Tuesday, the Lottery confirmed the authentication of the winning ticket and announced it was in its possession.

 

The winning prize money will be tendered in trust to the court for eventual distribution to the prevailing party or parties. The $1 million will be placed in an interest bearing account and regardless of the time involved for the court to resolve the ownership question, the prevailing party will receive the full amount plus the interest, said Anderson.

 

The eventual prevailing party or parties will claim $672,000 after state and federal taxes are withheld, not including any interest or tax withholding on that interest. Regardless of the outcome, Maverik will receive a $50,000 bonus for their part in producing the ticket.

 

The winning ticket matched all five numbers, 14, 18, 34, 42, and 43, but not the Powerball, 32 from last Saturday night’s $142 million jackpot draw. The PowerPlay is a multiplier for all non-jackpot winning tickets. For an extra $1 per play, players can multiply their winning tickets by 2 to 5 five times. On Saturday night, the multiplier was 5, making the normal $200,000 winning ticket a $1 million winner. During the month of April, a ten multiplier will be added to the game.

 

The announced jackpot for this Saturday night’s draw is $183 million.

 

# # #