November 10, 2015 – It took many family road trips, a little extra cash, and one lucky drawing to change Pablo Machuca’s life. On Wednesday, November 4, Pablo and his wife Yanelly learned he was the winner of a million-dollar Powerball® jackpot after his ticket, purchased at Kik’s Chevron in Evanston, matched five numbers. Pablo also made WyoLotto™ history as the first-ever player to take home a million-dollar Powerball jackpot in Wyoming.
Pablo and Yanelly have been playing Powerball for the last 10 months, and the trips to Kik’s, the only location where they purchase tickets, has become something of a family tradition for the Machucas. Every five weeks or so, Pablo, Yanelly, and their family would make the journey from their home in Salt Lake City, Utah to Evanston to play Powerball.
During their most recent trip to Kik’s, Pablo had intended to buy one-less ticket, but realizing he had some spare cash, decided to purchase the ticket that would eventually make him and Yanelly millionaires.
He always chose to play Powerball, and always selected Quick Pick® tickets. Pablo would tell Yanelly that he believed, someday, the numbers would be there that would change their lives. Last week, he was proven right.
Pablo checked the winning numbers by phone the morning after the drawing. When he couldn’t believe his luck, he asked Yanelly to check online, which she did multiple times. After confirming the numbers matched, he cried, and so did Yanelly, both of them knowing it was the first day of a new life together.
With their windfall, they plan to pay off the mortgage on their home and invest in a rental property. Thanks to their Powerball jackpot, they also have the opportunity to help family members.
The new Powerball launched on October 4 with bigger jackpots, a 10X multiplier, and better odds of winning. With this historic million-dollar Powerball win and the tremendous success of Cowboy Draw™, Wyoming’s own game, it’s clear that lottery players like Pablo and Yanely are buying winning tickets from Wyoming retailers, boosting the state’s economy, and enjoying the fun and excitement offered by WyoLotto games.
So far, 745,263 WyoLotto players have won a total of $8,888,672 since WyoLotto’s launch in August 2014. Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 8:59 p.m., and ticket sales close at 7:59 p.m.
Players can learn more about all the great games from WyoLotto at wyolotto.com and then visit a Wyoming retailer to purchase a Cowboy Draw, Mega Millions®, or Powerball ticket for their chance to win.
To find out if they have won, players can check their numbers online at wyolotto.com, take their ticket to any official WyoLotto retailer, or call toll free to 1-855-995-6886 (855-WY-LOTTO).
To receive updates and winning number notifications from the Wyoming Lottery, players can visit info.wyolotto.com/signup.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robin Reining • Wyoming Lottery Corporation
Phone: 307-459-0583 • robin@warehousetwentyone.com