For Immediate Release: February 7, 2012
Contact: Kelly Thompson, 773-5770 or kelly.thompson@state.sd.us

Rapid City Man Claims $256,515 Wild Card 2 Jackpot

(Pierre) – “Thrilled and thankful.” That’s how Dave Yuhas of Rapid City felt when he learned he was the winner of the $256,515 Wild Card 2 jackpot from the February 4, 2012 drawing. He collected his winnings February 7, 2012 at the Rapid City Lottery office.

His Quick Pick ticket purchased at Big D Oil Company on Jackson Boulevard in Rapid City was the only one to match all five white ball numbers and the Wild Card that night; the odds of winning the Wild Card 2 jackpot are 1:1,359,288. Yuhas says he usually plays lotto when the jackpots reach a certain level and he frequently buys his tickets at Big D Oil Company because it’s near his home. The store will receive a $2,565 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

The first inkling Yuhas, a certified public accountant, had that the ticket could be a winner was when he read in yesterday’s newspaper that the jackpot had been won in Rapid City and he realized some of the winning numbers looked familiar.

“I knew I had at least three of the numbers right, maybe more. I told my wife (Kari) when I got home that we might have won $250,000 and we decided we better get to a store and check the ticket,” Yuhas said.

A quick scan on a ticket self-checker turned up the message that the prize had to be redeemed at a Lottery office; the clerk behind the counter scanned it as well and confirmed the ticket was a winner.

The win was good news for the couple, whose family includes three daughters, and who are in the process of moving from Billings, Montana to Rapid City.

“It will definitely make some changes in our lives. We can pay off some debts, finish relocating to the area. It’s almost too good to be true,” he said. “You can’t win if you don’t play.”

Wild Card 2 is played only in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. The jackpot currently sits at $100,000 for the next drawing on Wed., February 8, 2012.

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