(The following report appeared on the Globe Gazette website on January 14.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — A railroad worker who bought a “Midwest Millions” instant-scratch ticket while working in southwest Iowa said he was amazed to learn he had won the grand prize of $500,000 in the game’s first drawing.
“It’s just kind of overwhelming,” said Ralph Kuwamoto, a welding foreman for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. “That’s amazing, just amazing. I’m happy!”
Kuwamoto, 50, of Lincoln, Neb., was selected as the top-prize winner of $500,000 in the “Midwest Millions” drawing conducted Friday by officials of the Kansas and Iowa lotteries at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Fifty winners of $1,000 prizes also were selected in the drawing. A second drawing in the game is scheduled for April in Iowa.
Midwest Millions is the first instant-scratch game to be sold jointly by two U.S. lotteries. The Kansas and Iowa lotteries began selling the game in September.
Players in both states have been buying tickets and competing for prizes as part of an effort to test the “Powerball concept” that has proven so successful in lotto games.
Multiple lotteries have joined together in lotto games such as Powerball to offer bigger prizes and more chances to win than they would have been able to achieve on their own.
Kuwamoto bought his winning-entry ticket at Eddy’s, 1200 Locust St. in Glenwood.
Friday’s drawing results were announced in front of a crowd at the Kansas Statehouse and word spread quickly.
“I heard it from a buddy who called me from Arizona,” Kuwamoto said. “I was coming back from St. Joseph, Mo., and I got the call. He said he had heard a vicious rumor that I had won quite a substantial amount of money. It’s kind of amazing.”
Kuwamoto said he was riding in a van with several other railroad workers when he got the call and he jokingly told them he was a rich man. “I was just kind of playing around, I guess,” he said.
But soon he received more telephone calls with the same good news. “I’m at a loss for words,” he said. “You just don’t expect something like this.”
Officials with both lotteries said they have been pleased by Midwest Millions’ performance, and Kuwamoto’s win as an out-of-state player is evidence of the game’s wide appeal.
“Lottery prizes can be won by anyone from anywhere, and this drawing is definitely evidence of that,” said Mary Neubauer, the Iowa Lottery’s vice president of external relations. “We’re looking forward to the next drawing in April, and you never know who the winners will be.”
Midwest Millions offers 1.2 million tickets, with 600,000 going to each state. Statewide sales began in both states on Sept. 10. Instant prizes range from $10 to $50,000 and two second-chance drawings in the game each offer a $500,000 prize as well as 50 prizes of $1,000.
The first drawing was Friday in Topeka, and more than 81,000 entries were received for it. The second drawing will be April 18 in Des Moines.