Cheyenne, Wyoming
Catching his largest brown trout on the Popo Agie River in Lander, Mike Wieser felt like one of the luckiest guys in Wyoming for that moment. That was Monday, March 13. Standing at a convenience store, grabbing some coffee the next morning, he learned he didn’t use up all his luck on the river.
Wieser became the jackpot winner of Wyoming’s own game, Cowboy DrawⓇ, after the March 13 drawing. However, he didn’t learn until the next morning that he was the winner of the fifth largest Cowboy Draw Jackpot of $746,022.
“I was holding my coffee and just shaking when we read the numbers, and I was told I won it all,” Wieser said.
Wieser, a Wyoming native, carefully stowed his ticket where it would be safe, and took off toward his job site while calling his boss for advice. “My boss told me not to try and work, and instead get to Cheyenne as quick as I could,” Wieser said.
At that moment, Wieser said the feeling hit him, and he needed to tell his girlfriend Jennifer Holling as soon as possible. It took him nearly two hours to reach her, which he said was the longest two hours of his life. “Her response to me was, ‘Don’t drink a Redbull or your heart will explode.’”
“I also told him not to lose the ticket,” Jennifer added.
Wieser is a regular player of WyoLottoTM games, and said, “I try to play when I feel lucky, and sometimes I like to do quick picks, but sometimes I just like to choose my own numbers.” Wieser said he had two sheets filled out with his own numbers, and with one sheet in each hand, for some reason he chose the sheet with 7, 11, 33, 39 and 44. Those numbers all have meaning and have been lucky at some point or another for Wieser, including when he won $250 in roulette on a three number streak of guessing the right number to fall. Those numbers now have a value of $746,022.
With spring break just around the corner, this money will help Wieser and his girlfriend to take a vacation to the Grand Canyon with their children. Wieser said he will also make sure to put aside plenty for his 10-year-old daughter, Mya, to go to college. He will also be able to upgrade his pickup and pay off medical bills.
Wieser works at Sheet Metal Specialties out of Casper, Wyo., and said, “I will definitely keep working there. I love what I do and everyone I work with.”
WyoLotto offers four unique draw games including Cowboy Draw, Lucky for LifeⓇ, Mega MillionsⓇ, and PowerballⓇ.