A Wetmore, Colo. woman left the Pagosa Springs Giant station in late July with a Lotto ticket worth $2.6 million.
It took her nearly a week to redeem the jackpot.
According to Erika Gonzalez of the Colorado Lottery, Teresa Hoskins chose her own numbers and bought the lucky ticket for the Aug. 1 drawing. She later redeemed the ticket Aug. 7 at Colorado Lottery offices in Pueblo.
Gonzalez said Hoskins opted for a cash payout rather than an annual payment, thus the woman took home about $1.3 million before taxes.
Hoskins maintains an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment.
According to Gonzalez, and despite the poor economy, Colorado lottery sales remain brisk. In fact by, June 30, 2009, the Colorado Lottery posted $493.4 million in sales — the second best sales performance in its history.
In addition, the lottery returned $119.6 million to the state.
Gonzalez said sales of lottery tickets overall, declined 2.5 percent in fiscal year 2009, and sales of scratch tickets and Powerball tickets declined 2.3 percent and 8 percent respectively.
The lottery’s jackpot games however — Lotto and Cash 5 — posted sales increases. Lotto sales jumped 6 percent from $41.1 million in fiscal year 2008 to $43.5 million in fiscal year 2009. Cash 5 broke a record, reaching nearly $21 million in sales for fiscal year 2009, compared to $19.1 million the year before. Slightly higher jackpots may have lured players to Lotto, which hit a high for the year of $11 million in October 2008.
The small drop, Gonzalez said, did not prevent the Lottery from meeting its obligations to its proceeds partners: Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Conservation Trust Fund and Colorado State Parks. The three organizations received the following contributions from sales of lottery tickets:
• Great Outdoors Colorado: $54.3 million.
• Conservation Trust Fund: $47.8 million.
• Colorado State Parks: $11.9 million.
In addition, the Colorado Lottery returned $5.5 million to the Public School Capital Construction Assistance Fund.
james@pagosasun.com
