WORKERS BUILD POOL TO WIN BIG 21 Co-Workers Form Pool for Mega Millions
OLYMPIA Are you in? Ted Maus enthusiastically asks as he makes his rounds collecting $10 from his colleagues. Maus has organized a Mega Millions lotto pool at work for years and says whenever the Jackpot gets above $100 million they buy tickets. So when the Jackpot reached $270 million for the February 22 drawing, 21 employees of Gary Merlino Construction in South Park pooled their money to purchase 221 Washington Mega Millions tickets.
According to Maus, participants buy into the pool at $10 each and this time, that 10 bucks paid off as the coworkers won the $250,000 second tier Washington Mega Millions prize. Once the shock subsided, the pool of 21 winners decided to form the R.U.N. Trust, named in honor of Maus’ lucky query.
I purchased the ticket from Safeway in Maple Valley and when I went back to check it, the cashier was speechless. She couldn’t get the words out so I knew we must have won big, Maus said. When we finally found out how much we won my wife and I couldn’t contain our excitement! I called everyone in the pool immediately! Once the money is divided equally, each pool member will walk away with approximately $8,000 and they all plan on spending it on something they’re passionate about. I’m going to take my wife to Italy for her 50th birthday, Maus said. Some other guys bought motorcycles and some bought parts for the bikes they already have this is a dream come true for all of us.
Lottery Winner Plans to Save and Spend Winnings Wisely OLYMPIA Lindsey Burchak, Jr. was feeling good when he walked into the Washington’s Lottery Everett office on Thursday. The Woodinville resident knew he was holding a slip of paper worth $175,000!
Words can’t describe how I feel right now, he said pensively. The day before, Burchak had picked his daughter up from school and stopped at Sami’s Shell to fill his tank. After pumping his gas, he went inside to pay and decided to purchase a Hit 5 ticket for that evening’s drawing. When he checked his ticket after the drawing, he was delighted to find out he had won!
The cashier ran my ticket through the machine, and out popped a second piece of paper behind it, so I knew something was up, said Burchak. Sure enough, the second slip said I was a winner. Burchak, who has been married for 16 years to his wife Susan and has two daughters, is going to save his winnings and doesn’t plan on making any big purchases. Burchak matched all five numbers in the January 30 Hit 5 drawing - 18-26-35-37-38. He split the $350,000 cashpot with one other winner who matched the same numbers. Burchak’s winning ticket was purchased at Sami’s Shell located at 15606 NE Woodinville Duvall PL in Woodinville.
Married Father of Three Starts the New Year ‘Feelin’ Good!’
OLYMPIA Frank Mungin and his wife Doraine were reading their Sunday paper as usual last weekend when Frank did a double-take. I had my Lottery ticket in my hand and I was checking the winning numbers from the night before. I looked at the ticket, then I looked at the paper, then I looked at the ticket again. Then I shouted to my wife that she had to look, too, because I couldn’t believe my eyes we had a winner! says Frank Mungin, recapping how he found out he won $180,000 in the December 29 Hit 5 drawing. She started screaming, then we yelled for the kids to come see! Once they settled down, the Mungins called their parents, who were equally stunned.
My mom in Florida told me she had to sit down for a moment! said Frank. We’re all feelin’ really good!
A former military man now working as a postman, Frank says the family plans to pay off bills and share some of their winnings with family. But he also says they’ll have some fun with the extra funds. we may splurge a little bit, too, and that’s A-OK! he says. Mungin purchased his winning Hit 5 ticket at Double Lee #6 at 8515 NE Andresen Road in Vancouver, Wash. The winning numbers for the December 29 drawing were 02-05-08-10-23. Mungin split the $360,000 Cashpot for that drawing with one other winner who has yet to come forward and claim his or her $180,000 prize.