Rosemary Loveland of Boise has been playing the same numbers ever since the Idaho Lottery began -- and last Thursday, her efforts finally paid off, when she won the “Lucky for Life” game.
“I looked at the numbers and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I recognized them right away!” she told Lottery officials. “I called my daughter and told her ‘I did it! I did it! I did it!’”
What Loveland did was win the second-tier prize on the Idaho Lottery Draw Game “Lucky for Life.” New to playing the game, Loveland knew she’d won a big prize -- but was uncertain exactly how much she’d won until she called the Lottery offices.
For matching the first five numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, players have a choice of collecting $25,000 a year for life with a minimum twenty-year payout –- half-a-million dollars –- or, they may select a one-time, lump sum cash payout of $390,000.
“I always thought I’d be lucky to win $25, but to win a half-a-million, wow!” Loveland exclaimed.
A retiree since 1984, Loveland decided to take the one-time lump sum cash option of $390,000. She plans to invest her winnings for her children and grandchildren.
Loveland purchased her winning ticket at Albertsons on Five Mile and Ustick in Boise. This store previous sold a $191,100 winning ticket in June 2011 on the Lottery Game “Winner Take All Raffle”.
“Lucky for Life” began in Idaho in January of last year and is played in only twenty-one North American Lottery jurisdictions. The game is drawn on Monday and Thursday nights. The top prize in the game is $1,000 a day for life with a twenty-year minimum and no maximum payout.
As she left the Lottery, Loveland said she was looking forward to the fun she would have in trying to deposit the large, oversized check she received from the Lottery.
