McPherson Resident's Fast 5s Purchase leads to $22,000 Win
According to Christopher Higgins of McPherson, if it wasn't for the Kansas Lottery's "Fast 5s Sampler", which includes a $2 Powerball ticket, $1 Mega Millions ticket, $1 Hot Lotto ticket, $1 Super Kansas Cash ticket and a $1 2by2 ticket, he probably wouldn't have ever tried his luck playing 2by2. The McPherson resident is glad he made the Fast 5s purchase last week after winning a $22,000 top prize playing 2by2!

Higgins won the top prize by matching both Red numbers 08 and 14 and both White numbers 04 and 24 in the April 23 drawing.

"After work last Friday, I stopped at a convenience store to check my tickets and happened to run into my sister's mother-in-law," said Higgins. "As we were talking, I was scanning my tickets and was excited when I realized I had won $4 on one of the games I played. When I scanned my 2by2 ticket, the scanner instructed me to sign the back of my ticket. Since I had never seen that message before, my sister's mother-in-law told me I should sign the back of the ticket and we asked a store clerk to scan it on their lottery terminal. When the clerk told me how much I had won I was dumbstruck. I didn't think I was hearing her correctly."

Once the shock of the win turned to extreme excitement, Higgins drove the few blocks to his mom's house to share the good news.

"She was sitting out on her deck relaxing when I arrived," explained Higgins. "When I told her how much I had won, she didn't believe me. She said I had a sheepish look and made me repeat myself several times before it finally sank in how much I had won."

In order to claim his prize at Lottery headquarters in Topeka, Higgins called his boss and asked for the day off.

"She didn't believe it either," said Higgins. "I finally had to put my mom on the phone to convince her. Since we had been acting silly at work earlier in the day, she thought I was pulling a prank."

Higgins, who works as a staffing supervisor for Kelly Services in McPherson, plans to give a portion of his winnings to two small churches his dad used to minister to and buy a few family members special gifts.

"We have a lot of Tauruses in the family, so we have a lot of upcoming birthdays," said Higgins. "Now I can buy them decent gifts this year."

The winning ticket was purchased at KAPS 1004, located at 1340 N. Main St. in McPherson.

$22,000 2by2 Prize for Lincoln Woman
Lori Crowder of Lincoln recently won $22,000 playing 2by2 from the Nebraska Lottery.

There were more than 13,000 Nebraska Lottery winners in the Wednesday, August 24, drawings. Among these winners was Crowder, who purchased a quick pick 2by2 ticket at U-Stop, 110 West Fletcher Avenue in Lincoln. The ticket contained the winning red ball numbers (16, 17) and winning white ball numbers (23, 25) from the August 24 drawing for a corresponding prize of $22,000.

Two hundred and fifty-five Nebraska Lottery players have won the 2by2 top prize to date.

Crowder wasted no time claiming her prize, arriving at Nebraska Lottery headquarters the day after the drawing. Crowder told Nebraska Lottery officials that she normally does not purchase 2by2 tickets, but she wanted to enter her non-winning tickets in the Nebraska Football Road Trip Second-Chance Contest at nelottery.com. "I've been playing 2by2 because I wanted to win a football trip," said Crowder.

"I never imagined I'd win anything on the tickets." She plans to pay for some home improvements using her winnings.

Kansas Resident's Lucky Streak Continues with $22,004 Win
David Howell enjoys playing Keno so much he is known as "Keno Dave" among family and friends. The Wichita resident has been on a lucky streak lately, winning five 6-spot Keno cash prizes for a total of approximately $11,000. After today, he might also be known as "2by2 Dave." Howell matched both Red numbers 08 and 15 and both White numbers 05 and 13 in the August 6 2by2 drawing, winning a $22,000 top prize!

In addition to the $22,000 top prize, Howell also matched one Red number 08 and one White number 05, winning $3 on his $5 2by2 ticket. Plus, he matched one Red number on another play bringing his total winnings to $22,004!

"I play all lottery games every day," said Howell. "If you don't play, you can't win. I play so often, I teach other people how to play. Sometimes, I'll share a ticket with one of the store clerks. If we win, we split the prize. I think being generous brings you luck."

According to Howell, when he was at Lottery headquarters in Topeka last Monday to claim a Keno cash prize, he told Lottery officials he was going to be back with another big win.

"When I left, I said I was going to be back soon with a 2by2 prize," said Howell. "I just didn't think it was going to be this soon. Maybe my luck will continue and I'll be back again next Monday."

Howell, who has three children, plans to use part of his winnings to purchase textbooks for one of his daughters, who is attending Wichita State University this fall.

The winning ticket was purchased at Presto 1638, located at 2001 S. Oliver in Wichita.

Weeping Water Woman Wins Double 2by2 Top Prize
Marsha Nehring of Weeping Water recently won a total of $44,000 playing Nebraska 2by2 with the 2by2 Tuesday feature.

There were more than 8,000 Nebraska Lottery winners in the Tuesday, July 5, drawings. Among these winners was Nehring, who purchased her winning 2by2 ticket at Stop 'N Shop, 300 West Eldora Avenue in Weeping Water. The ticket was good for seven draws and contained the winning red ball numbers (4, 10) and winning white ball numbers (22, 25) from the July 5 drawing for a corresponding prize of $22,000.

Because Nehring purchased a seven-day multi-draw ticket, her ticket was eligible for the 2by2 Tuesday feature where all prizes won on Tuesdays are doubled, making her $22,000 prize $44,000.

Two hundred and fifty-three Nebraska Lottery players have won the 2by2 top prize to date. Nehring is the second person in Nebraska to win a doubled top prize since the 2by2 Tuesday feature was launched in February 2008.

While claiming her prize on July 7, Nehring told Nebraska Lottery officials that she learned she had won after returning to Stop 'N Shop to check her tickets. "When the clerk told me I'd won, I said 'You're kidding me,'" said Nehring. She plans to pay bills using her winnings.

Nervous Mayetta Couple Waits for Lottery Office to Open
William and Sandy Crites of Mayetta were very nervous sitting in the parking lot of Kansas Lottery headquarters at 7:45 this morning, waiting for the Claims Office to open.

"We were still trying to figure out if it was real or not!" said Sandy Crites. "We never win anything, and we never dreamed we would be coming to this office."

The couple didn't have to wait long to find out it was no dream. When they entered the Lottery office at 8:00, they found out they really had won $22,000 playing 2by2. Their Quick Pick ticket for the Saturday, May 14, drawing matched both Red numbers 6 and 26 and both White numbers 17 and 20. William Crites says on Wednesdays and Saturdays he typically purchases one ticket each for 2by2, Powerball, Super Kansas Cash and Hot Lotto.

"We must have checked the numbers about a dozen times on the Internet," said William Crites. "This is pretty exciting." Sandy Crites says she is especially excited that she can cancel the call she made to the bank last week.

"I was going to see if we could borrow money to build a shed," she said. "Now we can pay for it ourselves, and maybe get a new lawn mower, too."

William Crites works for Wal-Mart in Topeka. Sandy Crites is employed by Wolfe's Camera Shop. The lucky 2by2 ticket was purchased at Gas & Shop 1, located at 1900 NW Topeka Blvd. in Topeka.

North Dakota Man Claims Five Jackpots
Try telling Leonard Beston of Fort Yates that it is crazy to buy five tickets with the same number. He hit the 2by2 $22,000 jackpot five times for the May 24 draw to collect $110,000 by doing just that.

Leonard Beston remained calm as he described his winning experience and reasoning for choosing five plays for a shot at the jackpot. Leonard picks his numbers based on numbers he feels win most frequently, although he said the overall decision to buy a ticket is guided by a hunch. “You just gotta feel it. You know, you gotta have that hunch that you will win,” said Beston. He also mentioned that when he plays, he will frequently purchase five plays for the 2by2 game. “If you match three numbers, instead of winning $100, you win $500.” Beston plans to take care of a few bills and purchase a car with his winnings.

Lucky Kansas Winner Wins $22,000 on Free Ticket
It’s a great story all the way around. Jerry Arbogast of Overland Park recently won a free ticket playing 2by2, and then he won $22,000 on that free ticket! “It was a very big shock,” said the 68-year-old winner.

Arbogast matched all four numbers in the 2by2 drawing on Wednesday, February 3. “I usually pick my own numbers, and I would not have picked those winning numbers,” said Arbogast. “It’s a good thing the free ticket was a Quick Pick so the computer picked the numbers.” “He was so nonchalant about it when he told me he’d won $22,000 that I didn’t believe him at first,” said Charlene Arbogast, the winner’s wife. “He wasn’t screaming or anything, so I thought he was pulling my leg.”

The Arbogasts plan to pay medical bills with part of their prize money. They’re also going to take a trip to Dallas to see their son, and will put the rest in the bank. “It’s a heck of a lot of money,” said the happy winners. Jerry Arbogast got his lucky 2by2 ticket at Food Mart, located at 7427 Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park.

Kansas Man Wins $22,000-No Joke
Everyone who knows Albert Griffin Jr. realizes he likes to play 2by2 and Pick 3 every day. Thursday morning while at work, the Junction City resident joked with co-workers about winning a large prize. Unbeknownst to him, he actually had won a large prize. Griffin matched both Red numbers and both White numbers in the September 9 2by2 drawing, winning a $22,000 top prize.

“When I was joking around, I had no idea that I had a $22,000 winning ticket,” said Griffin. “Later that day, I checked my tickets on a Check-A-Ticket machine at a Kansas Lottery retailer and it read, ‘Sign back of ticket. Claim at Lottery.’ I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I scanned my ticket again. When it read the same thing, I knew I must have won something big.” Griffin still didn’t realize how much he did win until a clerk at the store verified his win.

“When she scanned my ticket on their machine, she asked me if I knew how much I’d won,” said Griffin. “I told her I must have won $2,000. She looked at me and said, ‘No, you won $22,000!’” Even though Griffin was very excited about his win he kept it a secret for a couple of days. “I didn’t tell anyone until today,” said Griffin. “I called my brother Keith this morning to see if he’d like to make the trip to Topeka with me this afternoon. His reply was, ‘Why, did you win the Lottery?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I did!”

Griffin, who is single, plans to pay bills with his prize money. “I knew if I kept at it, I’d win,” said Griffin. “I’m too optimistic to not win.” The winning ticket was purchased at Handy’s 5, located at 1101 Whitney in Junction City.