One million reasons to smile
LOREN BENOIT/Press Post Falls resident Lisa Clough receives a $1,000,000 check from Idaho Lottery public information specialist David Workman Wednesday morning at Super 1 Foods in Post Falls. The Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle ended Dec. 31 and the winning numbers were drawn Jan. 2.
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
POST FALLS — “Wooh! That’s Idaho’s noise, isn’t it?” Lisa Clough asked with a beaming smile.
Clough has one big reason to "Wooh!"
Actually, she has a million of them.
The Post Falls resident received a ceremoniously oversized check for $1 million on Wednesday after she purchased the winning ticket in Idaho Lottery’s $1,000,000 Raffle last month.
"I'm a little overwhelmed," Clough said as Idaho Lottery public information specialist David Workman presented her the check, surrounded by news crews and a few of Clough's loved ones.
“It’s fantastic," said Clough's son, Chris Peterman of Post Falls. "I’m ecstatic that she won — not only because I’m her son, but she deserves it."
They gathered near the entrance of the Post Falls Super 1 Foods, where the ticket was bought Dec. 8 during a promotional evening.
"It was on my phone because I have the Idaho Lottery as one of my friends on Facebook," Clough said.
Clough, a regular Idaho Lottery player and member of the Idaho Lottery’s VIP Club, sent her son to the store to buy two tickets during the event.
"You got extra holiday tickets for each Raffle ticket you bought at the Super 1,” Clough stated in an Idaho Lottery news release. "I thought it sounded like a good idea."
The Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle ended Dec. 31 and the winning numbers were drawn Jan. 2. A few days later, Clough checked her tickets using Idaho Lottery's mobile check-a-ticket app.
"It said to call the Lottery. So we did,” Clough said. "I told the gal on the phone the number I was checking and she told me, ‘Congratulations,’ and that I was holding the $1 million winning ticket. I was a little bit shaky after that."
When she realized she held the winning ticket, Clough said she felt “that I was probably going to have a heart attack right there."
Clough buys scratch and lottery tickets when she has extra money, but she never thought she would win a prize this big. She and her husband, Ted, are on disability and do not work, so this serendipitous windfall will allow them to invest in their futures.
"First up, I’m going to pay the rest of the taxes on it and get that out of the way so that we don’t get in any trouble in 2019,” she said. “Then I’m thinking maybe buy a house and invest some and take it slow, not get in a hurry to do anything with it. I’m not a big spender. I don’t go extravagant. Maybe I’ll go on a little trip or something.
"I think I’ll buy the dog a toy,” she said with a laugh.
Workman said normally, when someone wins a prize that large, they claim it in Boise, but because of the Cloughs’ difficulties with traveling this time of year, Idaho Lottery was able to accommodate them.
Super 1 Foods received a $20,000 bonus check for selling the winning ticket. Clough said she’s been in North Idaho since 1993 and frequently shops at the Post Falls store.
"We’re just mainly excited that it’s someone local,” said store director Mike Hernandez. "You always hear of big winners back East with the Powerball and Megas. It’s nice to have one right here in Post Falls. It’s perfect."