(PIERRE) – Jim Mulder of Flandreau has claimed his $82733 Dakota Cash jackpot for the Sept. 4 2010 drawing at the Sioux Falls Lottery office.
He purchased the Quick Pick ticket at Maynard’s Food Center in Flandreau. The store will receive a bonus of nearly $4137 for selling the winning ticket. The 68yearold Mulder is a regular customer at the grocery store and generally buys tickets for the state’s five lotto games.
Mulder first learned he had a winning ticket while watching the morning news.
“I was waiting for the weather to come on and the announcer said a jackpotwinning Dakota Cash ticket had been sold in Flandreau. So I got out my ticket checked my numbers against the T.V. and it was me” Mulder said.
When asked if he was surprised at the news Mulder joked “Well they sent the ambulance out to revive me so I must have been!”
The retired sheet metal worker then took his winning ticket to town to confirm he’d won the jackpot. And after checking it again at a local retailer he proceeded to tell “everybody he saw” the good news. Although his wife of 50 years Darlene (Dar) was out of town she and the couple’s three children were among the first to hear of the win. The family also includes five grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren.
For now Mulder has no concrete plans for what to do with his jackpot winnings.
“My biggest problem right now is what to invest it in. This is quite a load you’ve dropped on me” he laughed.
Mulder says he’ll continue to play lotto although he has no expectations that he’ll ever be this lucky again. Still he encourages other players to try their luck.
“This is just proof that it is possible to win” he said.
Dakota Cash is played only in South Dakota. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1:324632. The jackpot starts again at $20000 for the next drawing on Wed. Sept. 8 2010.