Mega Millions mystery

POST FALLS - National lottery fever is forever engraved on the banks of Idaho's River City.

Post Falls shared the national spotlight on Wednesday with Ephrata, Wash., just 150 away as the cities where winning tickets for Tuesday night's $380 million Mega Millions jackpot were sold.

"It's been a crazy day," said Wendy Reuter, a clerk at Post Falls' Handy Mart, where lottery players lined up to check their tickets and joined in on the buzz. "It's cool that a winning ticket was purchased in our neighborhood. It's always back East, back East."

The winner with the ticket sold in Post Falls didn't came forward on Wednesday. The Idaho Lottery did not release the store the winning ticket was purchased at for security and integrity reasons.

The Ephrata resident who bought the ticket at Safeway in that town will be announced in Olympia today.

The jackpot was the second-largest in U.S. lottery history - second only to the $390 Mega Millions jackpot in March 2007. The odds of winning were 1 in 176 million.

The amount will be split equally - $190 million each as an annuitized prize - between the Idaho winner and the Washington winner.

The one-time cash option on the prize is $120 million before state and federal taxes. After taxes, each winner will claim more than $80 million.

The winner has 180 days to claim their prize and then 60 days after that to decide whether to choose the one-time cash option or take the annuity. The annuity is paid in 26 payments, the first when they claim the prize and then in 25 equal payments annually for the next 25 years. Each annuity payment is $4.9 million.

"The Pacific Northwest is green today, and Idaho is a very lucky place," said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery director. "There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm for our winner right now."

Post Falls lottery outlets were filled with curious and dreaming players on Wednesday, whether they bought tickets for the draw or not. Some have even become superstitious.

"I'll never buy a ticket outside Post Falls now," Raymond Williams said after checking his tickets and buying new ones. "History repeats itself, and I believe that more than ever now."

Post Falls' Norman Tucker said he generally buys a ticket in Post Falls, but it never happened for the latest draw. While he's bummed about that, he said the Post Falls winner won't make him increase his purchases for future draws.

"It takes luck and people have won on $2," he said, adding that he'd pay off the house he just bought if he would win.

He said he believes Post Falls gaining national attention is a good thing.

"It's really nice for the businesses around here to get the attention," he said.

But Tucker doesn't believe the situation will change any images or the city itself.

"This town has been making a difference for Idaho the last 10 years," he said. "We're already on the map, and I don't think a lottery winner is going to change that."

It has, however, created a craze, especially at area stores.

Teresa Thompson, a clerk at Handy Mart, said the store sold 1,200 lottery tickets on Tuesday. It normally sells about 200 on a given day.

"Everybody who has been coming in has been asking about it," she said. "It's created a lot of excitement with our customers."

David Workman, Idaho Lottery spokesman, said it's not unusual that a winner does not claim the prize the first day or even the first month.

"It's a good idea to get an accountant and attorney to handle this kind of situation," Workman said. "It's certainly going to be a life-changing experience for somebody."

The winning tickets matched all five numbers (4, 8, 15, 25, 47) and the Mega Ball (42).

Idaho has been offering Mega Millions for 11 months and this is the first time a winning jackpot ticket was sold in the state.

A $1 million winner who purchased a ticket in Post Falls for a Mega Millions draw in October still has not claimed the prize. The ticket matched the first five numbers, but not the Mega Ball.

Mega Millions, which replaced The Big Game in May 2002, is sold in 41 states and Washington, D.C.