Walla Walla Man Claims 4th $250,000 Vaccine Lottery Prize

OLYMPIA, WA — A Walla Walla food service worker on Thursday claimed the fourth $250,000 prize in Washington's "Shot of a Lifetime" vaccine lottery, leaving just one major cash prize left in the final drawing planned later this month.

The Washington Lottery identified the winner as Stephen T, a married man in his 30s with a young daughter at home. Officials said Stephen's schedule did not allow for interviews, but he wrote a statement chronicling his journey from skeptical to stunned.

He writes:

"I was at work in a managers meeting when the phone rang. I saw it was a 253 number and said Fife, WA on the caller ID, so I asked if anyone knew where Fife was, then let it go to voicemail. When we finished the meeting, I played the voicemail in the room and three of the guys said that has to be a scam, and I didn't really know that the program was going on, but one of the guys said they're not asking for money or anything personal….you should call them back, just in case. So I did and I'm sure glad I did! They told me to search for the Shot of a Lifetime on the Internet so I knew it wasn't a scam, and I did and then I called the main Lottery number, and they told me it was really real. I didn't believe it at first and still kind of don't, but I think it's great that the state is doing this, because it really helps give people another big reason to get their shots. I just hope more and more people get vaccinated because it's really important. My wife and I never gamble, never bet, but this just proves that even the little guy can win sometimes."

Including the cash prize, lottery officials said 126 of the 247 vaccinated winners had claimed their items by noon Thursday, including a few dozen Xboxes and free Discover Passes.

The winning numbers are picked from the millions assigned to each person in the Department of Health's statewide Immunization Information System. After the drawing, the lottery works with health officials to match the numbers with their corresponding names and contact information. Winners have up to 72 hours to claim each prize after the lottery's first attempt to contact them. The lottery also draws an alternate winner for the large cash prize, in case the original winner fails to claim the prize in time.

The combined hundreds of unclaimed smaller prizes from previous drawings will be up for grabs again during the fifth and final drawing scheduled for July 13, which also features the biggest cash prize of the group: $1 million.

With a few dozen smaller prizes going unclaimed each week, lottery officials have some tips to make sure people do not miss out on their winnings:

• Officials calling from the lottery will most often have a 253 area code, but some phones will have a 564 number — the state's newest area code. Official prize emails will originate only from an address ending in "@doh.wa.gov."
• Winners have 72 hours to claim their prize, and the clock starts ticking as soon as the first call attempt happens. As the deadline nears, officials will also attempt to text winners, and send an e-mail if their address is on file.
• Washingtonians seeking help verifying that their vaccination records are in the state's database can call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-833-VAX-HELP.
• Beware of scammers: The state received some reports of scammers posing as lottery officials. The Attorney General's office shared several tips to avoid scammers Monday and encourages anyone suspicious of a call, text, or e-mail to contact the Washington State Lottery at 360-810-2888 to verify authenticity.