Lucky player beats unimaginable odds and takes home two massive lottery prizes

By Kate Northrop

There have been several instances of players winning the lottery twice, but in an absolutely mindboggling happenstance, an Idaho woman is giving those winners a run for their money after securing two six-figure jackpots back-to-back in just two days.

Orlene Peterson is redefining what it means to be lucky after winning two top prizes from two different stores in two consecutive days. Not only that, but she scooped up the first and last jackpot for two separate games.

The odds of winning two jackpots in just two days are quite impossible to calculate given the number of variables in the circumstance, but according to the Idaho Lottery, the unofficial estimate could be about 1 in 282.5 million.

Peterson won her first jackpot early in the morning on Fri., Jan. 29. She played the $20 "Grand Fortune" scratch-off game after picking up a ticket at the Albertsons grocery store on West Prairie Avenue in Hayden and was the very first player to win one of the two available top prizes of $200,000.

"I had bought some tickets already, then had $20 left over, so I thought what the heck — I'll get a Grand Fortune ticket," the winner said in a press release. "When I scanned the ticket, it said I had to contact the Idaho Lottery for my winnings. That had never happened before when I was playing. I checked it, and it was a $200,000 winner. I couldn't believe it."

Just the next morning, Peterson visited the Fred Meyer grocery store on West Kathleen Avenue in Coeur d'Alene and decided to try her luck again. This time, she purchased a ticket from the "Comin' In Hot" scratch-off game for $30 and won the last remaining top prize of $300,000 of the two that were originally available.

"When I scanned it and said I had to claim it at the lottery, I thought maybe it was $1,000," Peterson said of her second winning experience. "I never imagined it would be $300,000 and that it happened again. The next day!"

Peterson collected her combined winnings of $500,000 from the Idaho Lottery Offices in Boise on Wednesday. With that prize money, she plans on paying off outstanding bills and buying a brand-new truck. Perhaps, she said, a trip to Las Vegas is in order to see if her luck continues to pay off.

Both grocery stores that the tickets were bought at will receive a $20,000 commission each for selling a winning ticket.

"Idaho has a long history of being a lucky place to win," Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson said. "But there is a truth about our games: Players who buy tickets, win prizes. Being lucky started with playing the games."

There are currently two of three second prizes of $10,000 and four of six third prizes of $5,000 left to claim in the "Grand Fortune" game. All three $25,000 second prizes have been claimed for the "Comin' In Hot" game with two of six third prizes of $2,500 remaining.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Orlene Peterson won two six-figure lottery prizes within 48 hours.