COUNTRY TOBACCO SELLS WINNING $876,000 LOTTO TICKET

DOVER, DE - A 53-year-old man from Lewes, Del., claimed the $876,000 LOTTO jackpot prize from the January 18, 2002 drawing this morning at the Delaware Lottery Office in Dover. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was awarded $639,480, which represents his $876,000 prize minus $236,520 for federal tax.

He purchased the winning Quick Pick ticket the day of the drawing at Country Tobacco in Newark. He learned his ticket was the winner when he checked the winning numbers in the newspaper the day after the drawing. "I must have checked the numbers on my ticket about a thousand times before I realized I had won," the man explained. "It's a shocking, but definitely welcome, surprise."

The winner said he plans to speak with a financial advisor regarding his prize money. He also noted that he plays LOTTO and POWERBALL® regularly and plans to continue playing the games.

As of January 23, 2002, a $258,000 LOTTO jackpot prize for the August 27, 2001 drawing remains unclaimed. The winning numbers for the drawing were 03, 05, 10, 12, 21 and 27. Prizes may be claimed up to one year from the date of the drawing.

The estimated jackpot for tonight's LOTTO drawing is $260,000. Tickets for LOTTO cost $1 and are available at more than 400 Delaware Lottery Retailers throughout the state.

Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $1.1 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games including POWERBALL®, LOTTO, Rolldown®, PLAY 3 and PLAY 4, and assorted Instant Games.