(April 24, 2009) – An office pool of 11 Valley workers and an electrician from Chandler were the winners of the two $1 million top prizes in the Arizona Lottery’s latest Millionaire Raffle.
Members of the office pool, who work in the property management industry, arrived at the Lottery today to claim their winnings. In addition to the $1 million top prize, the group went home with two $1,000 prizes.
The organizer of the pool, Nancy Maguran, said the group purchased 11 Millionaire Raffle tickets. She logged on to the Arizona Lottery website at about 6:30 this morning to check the numbers. By the time she returned to the computer a few moments later, she learned one of the tickets was the grand prize and let out a squeal.
After counting off the zeroes on the screen to make sure she really had won $1 million, Maguran called her co-workers and left excitable messages.
Maguran’s supervisor, Kenneth Snyder, was out of the office, which also happens to be his last day of work for the company. “This was a heck of a going-away gift,” he exclaimed. He remembered when Maguran first approached him about joining the pool. “When she first asked if I wanted to get involved, I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I didn’t want to get left behind if the others won”, he said.
When asked what they would do with their winnings, Maguran shared that, “It isn’t enough to retire on, but it’s enough to have a good time!”
Later today, Wesley Eades entered the Arizona Lottery office not certain that the ticket he held in his hand was really a grand prize winner. After getting verification from a Lottery representative, he shared the good news with his girlfriend, Jenny King, in a call from his cell phone.
“I didn’t believe him,” King said. “I told him, ‘But it’s not April 1 anymore!’”
Eades, an electrician for the city of Chandler, said he planned to pay off his mortgage, his mom’s mortgage, his daughter’s school loans, and buy new cars for his daughter and girlfriend. He said his lucky number is 23, and because the Millionaire Raffle drawing was held yesterday, April 23, he decided to play.
“I still don’t believe it,” he said. “I’m excited for myself.”
The Millionaire Raffle drawing was held yesterday. The two winning $1 million tickets for the raffle were sold at the Circle K at 4801 E. Elliot Road, Phoenix, and the QuikTrip at 1995 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. The two winning ticket numbers are 069443 and 039510.
“It has been an exciting day at the Arizona Lottery,” said Jeff Hatch-Miller, Arizona Lottery executive director. “We always hope for a $1 million winner to come through on the next day of the drawing, but when it happens, it still jolts the entire place with excitement!”
Nearly $4 million in prizes are tied to this game. In addition to the two $1 million top prizes, there are four $100,000 prizes, 30 $10,000 prizes, 600 $1,000 prizes and 450 $500 prizes. There were also six weekly $25,000 instant prize drawings in March and April.
