Andersen wins $250K in lottery

SANDPOINT - Christmas shopping just got a whole lot easier for Sandpoint's Nancy Andersen.

A cook for Bonner General Hospital before retiring, Andersen recently won $250,000 from the Idaho State Lottery after uncovering the grand prize from a scratch-off ticket.

Anderson purchased the $15 ticket from a new vending machine at Yoke's in Ponderay last week, hoping only to break even. She did a lot better than that, winning the second largest amount in North Idaho's 19-year lottery history.

A longtime lottery player, Andersen regularly purchases scratch tickets but had never won more than $50. The big win was so unexpected that Andersen assumed she was reading the ticket wrong. Even after bringing the ticket into Yoke's for confirmation, Andersen said she wasn't convinced the win was real until she saw the money in her bank account.

"I didn't believe it when I was scratching it, but all those zeros kept coming and coming," she said.

Already a homeowner, Andersen has no plans to spend the money on any big-ticket items, but said she would pay off a few bills and help family members.

Xtreme Winter Green was a $15 Scratch ticket that debuted during last year's holiday season and carried the second largest cash prize available on an instant Scratch game from the Idaho Lottery. The game was over 80 percent sold through when Andersen claimed the top prize.

For its part in selling the winning ticket, Yoke's will receive a $20,000 bonus from the Idaho Lottery.