Lotto Alaska just paid out the largest cash prize in the lottery’s eight-year history: $13,385,961.40! The winner Jules Ravin from Homer, was the lucky recipient.
In a video posted to social media by the statewide lottery organization, Jules told contest officials he had purchased his ticket at River City Pull Tabs in Soldotna.
According to Stosh Solski, a staff member with Lotto Alaska, each time someone wins the jackpot, the game starts over. This time, the contest had gone 49 weeks without a winner, the longest in Lotto Alaska history. Winners are drawn weekly, each winning a cash prize. They also have an opportunity to call in and pick from a board with 54 panels—52 cards and two jokers. If a winner “draws” the Ace of Spades, they win the jackpot.
In the video, the current jackpot board had only nine squares left to choose from, and Jules picked what will undoubtedly be his new lifelong favorite number: 20.
When the Ace was revealed and Stosh announced the $13 million prize, Ravin’s first reaction was incredulous. “Are you joking?” he asked.
Solski assured Ravin that he had just won “over 13 million dollars,” but the winner still couldn’t believe it. “You’re messing with me,” Ravin said unbelievingly.
“Oh, my head’s starting to spin,” Ravin said in the video.
Understandably, Ravin is still trying to process his sudden turn of fate and declined to comment at this time.
The lottery, known as “Chase the Ace,” is a locally-run Statewide lottery that supports local Alaskan nonprofits and charitable organizations. According to the Lotto Alaska website, “ticket sales are divided between Players and the Nonprofit organizations we support.”
Solski laughed lightheartedly as he shared the winner from Homer’s continued disbelief in his extreme stroke of luck. “He called back two times after [winning] just to make sure we weren’t fooling with him,” Solski said. “He called back one time and said his wife didn’t believe him, and then he called back the second time just to triple-check.”
Ravin is the largest grand prize winner after Martin from Kodiak won $4.3 million dollars in the last game.