Both Top Instant $250,000 Wheel Of Fortune© Prizes Claimed On Same Day;greenbrier And Raleigh County

April 28, 2010

Boyd Brown of Frankford and Frankie Wix of Beckley both claimed the two top $250,000 prizes from the Lottery’s instant Wheel of Fortune© tickets today in Charleston, according to West Virginia Lottery Director John Musgrave.

Noting how surprising it was for both tickets to be claimed on the same day, Musgrave said Brown’s ticket was purchased at C&M Service Center in Frankford; Wix bought his at Little General in Van.

While the game only offered two top $250,000 instant prizes, Musgrave emphasized that another $250,000 cash prize and two trip packages to Hollywood for Wheel of Fortune© auditions will be won in a grand prize drawing June 25 as part of the Lottery’s 24th Anniversary second chance drawings.

The Lottery has awarded three of the five monthly $10,000 second chance prizes that were announced after the game was introduced in December. They include Debra Hull of Buckhannon, David Hunley of Hurricane and Taew Smith of Lorado.

The fourth drawing is to be held Friday (April 30); the last monthly drawing will be held May 28. Musgrave said all non-winning tickets will be included in the June drawing.

Not a stranger to good fortune, Brown said he has won $274,000 from the Lottery’s instant games within the last five years. “Still, I checked the ticket three or four times to be sure I was looking at it right.”

In addition to the $250,000 cash prize, Brown said he has won $24,000 playing other instant games. “Five years ago, I won $10,000 on Crossword, two weeks later won $5,000 on the same game and this past November won $9,000 on Triple Tattoo.”

Employed by a landscaping company, Brown is also a cattle farmer. With a wife and two grown children, he said his prize money will pay off the mortgage on their farm.