Lucky couple claims $100K prize

The lucky couple who won the biggest jackpot ever in the history of the Marianas Lottery turned up yesterday at the lottery office to claim their prize—a whooping $100,000—which they said they plans to use to first pay off their debts and then finish the construction of their house.

The couple, who requested anonymity, said they were on their way to a family member’s house on Friday when they heard on the radio the winning combination that made them $100,000 richer.

“Did you hear the same number as I did?” the wife asked, her heart pounding in excitement and tension. Her husband was behind the wheels as she popped up the volume of the car stereo to hear the lottery draw over Power 99 FM. She thought that she heard the numbers right—1-9-15-18-30 —but her ears might have been playing tricks on her.

Her husband, who was also in shock, nodded as he fumbled with the steering wheel. The couple has just become $100,000 richer. The wife was screaming inside the car.

The lucky number combination was manually picked by the wife based on the birthdays of her husband and his siblings. She only spent $15 dollars that Friday. She doesn’t normally play during Fridays but that day, she insisted with her husband and pulled over at the Shell Gualo Rai station to buy tickets.

While listening to the draw, she already got three of her numbers drawn. “As long as I win four numbers it will be a nice Christmas. When they announced the last number I was in shock,” she said. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack!”

That night, the couple couldn’t sleep and eat. “It was like a long weekend for us,” she said.

The next day she said she called the Marianas Lottery office to verify the drawn numbers and was told she got the winning ticket. She usually just places her tickets inside the car but for the winning ticket she guarded it with her life. “Every time I would open my purse, I would always look for the ticket if it’s still there,” she recalled, “I thought it might run away or the numbers might change!”

That same day, her husband went to Marianas Lottery office and saw Coleman, the company’s general manager, on the road. The manager thought somebody was trying to run her off the road. But he managed to stop the manager’s car and informed her about their winning ticket.

The two finally got their hands on the dough during the check presentation ceremony held yesterday at the Marianas Lottery office. The lucky couple presented the winning ticket to Marianas Lottery general manager Marie Coleman and Hironori Izumi of auditing firm Ernst & Young. The winning ticket was verified and matched against the yellow ribbon copy of the winning ticket. Izumi certified the winning ticket.

The 31 percent withholding tax brought down the couple’s winnings to $69,000. The wife said she already expected this and was not disappointed.

The wife said she has been playing since the lottery started. She already spent more than a $100 playing the lottery. Every time she checked, it seemed that nobody was lucky enough to take home the jackpot prize. “I guess nobody’s winning it because I’m going to win it,” she laughed.

Though they intend to keep quiet about it, these parents of three are very excited to make their children’s Christmas more memorable.

The two are average government employees. Paying debts has always been a nightmare for them.

The couple feels that a weight has been lifted off their shoulders. “Less stress now,” the wife affirmed, “Now we can enjoy going to work everyday.”

Coleman herself said that when her office learned that there was a winner for the jackpot prize, they were shocked but excited. “I’m just so happy for the winner,” she said. “My understanding is that they were a long time lottery customer, they never gave up. Someone needed the money, so we are very, very happy that somebody finally won it.”

The $100,000 winning jackpot prize had been at stake for four months now. The lottery has had several Bonus Ball winners and 2nd and 3rd prizes are normally won every week.

Marianas Lottery has been operating in the CNMI for almost two years now and no one had ever won any of the jackpot prizes until now. Currently, the office has already paid out over half a million in cash prizes.

Others present during the awarding ceremony were Finance Department representative Connie Salas, Revenue and Tax director Esther Ada, and staff members of Marianas Lottery. (Marconi Calindas)