Free Yogurt Inspires $50K Oregon Lottery Win

SPRINGFIELD, OR — Regardless of any personal beliefs, it's tough not to agree Todd Howard recently experienced a textbook case of karma in action. After winning the Oregon Lottery Powerball drawing on Aug. 18, Howard himself learned that every now and then — even when life may seem bleak — good things can still come to good people.

Howard, a Springfield resident, takes his daughter to get yogurt from the same shop nearly every weekend, he told Oregon Lottery officials while collecting his prize in Salem recently. But a broken railing at Howard's favorite yogurt shop had been bugging him; he considered it a hazard and decided to just fix it himself rather than risk seeing his own daughter get hurt.

"I just thought I’d fix it so I wouldn’t worry about it anymore and ended up getting free yogurt,” Howard said. “I felt like I won the lottery, so I went and bought a ticket. Turns out, my good deed lead to a $50,000 Lottery win!”

Matching four numbers and the Powerball for the Aug. 18 drawing, Howard won a cool $50,000 just like that. According to Oregon Lottery officials, Howard's prize is the largest jackpot ticket sold at the M Street Dari-Mart in Springfield in the past three years.

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Now, with an unexpected boost to his bank account, Howard said he'll hit the reset button on his finances, alleviating himself from a great deal of stress.

“I just feel very fortunate and blessed to have won,” he said. “While it might not seem like a huge amount compared to some wins, it will be making a difference in my life.”

For more information on the Oregon Lottery or its games and prizes, visit www.oregonlottery.org.

Image via Oregon Lottery