Hermiston Man Wins $118K On A Keno Game He Barely Understood

HERMISTON, OR — A Hermiston man was in disbelief when he saw he'd won more than $100,000 from the Oregon Lottery with a Special Keno ticket he bought at a truck stop in Umatilla. And the funny thing was, he hardly understood how he'd won so much.

A trucking company owner, Ronald Williams was at the Crossroads Truck Stop off Interstate-82 and Highway 730, at the Oregon-Washington border, when he bought his Special Keno 8-Spot ticket and added the Bulls-Eye bonus option — not knowing what exactly it was. Incidentally, Williams is also the first person to win the Bulls-Eye prize this year.

"I was at breakfast with a friend and the clerk said that someone was going to get $118,000 because of the win," Williams told Oregon Lottery officials. "I tried to figure out how it was that much, and she told me about the Bulls-Eye. I had no clue I had won that extra money!"

According to the Oregon Lottery, Keno players have won more than $3.7 million on the Bulls-Eye game since it was added to the lottery's variety of games. The top prize for winning the Bulls-Eye on a Keno 10-spot is $300,000. As of Jan. 23, no player had taken the top prize.

"Williams won $40,000 by hitting his Bulls-Eye number, $25,000 for playing Special Keno and the rolling 8-Spot bonus was $53,031.80," Oregon Lottery spokesman Patrick Johnson said, noting his grand total prize of $118,031.80.

"I bought the ticket, got home, took a nap and then checked the numbers with my computer," Williams said. "I am no computer wizard, but I was able to figure it out and checked it about eight times. I wanted to make sure I saw it right."

Williams told lottery officials he planned to improve some property he was planning to sell.

Over the past two years, more than $16 million in Oregon Lottery revenue was directed to economic and recreational infrastructure development in Umatilla County.

For more information on the Oregon Lottery or Keno, visit www.oregonlottery.org.

Image via Oregon Lottery