Washington's 1st Vaccine Lottery Drawing: What To Know Tuesday

SEATTLE —Washington's first weekly vaccine lottery drawing will take place Tuesday, randomly awarding cash and other prizes to residents who are immunized against COVID-19. One person will receive $250,000, and others could win free flights, camping trips, gaming consoles, sports tickets and more. The first batch of winners should hear from the state no later than Friday.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced the five upcoming drawings last week as the central piece of a new financial incentive package meant to help carry the state across the finish line to reopen early. Under the governor's orders, Washington will fully reopen no later than June 30, but it could happen at any time if the state reaches the 70 percent benchmark for residents 16 and older receiving at least one dose. At the end of last week, that figure was just past 63 percent.

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Related: Washington Clarifies Discrepancies In Vaccination Totals

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Here's how the lottery works and what's included in the cache of prizes:

On Tuesday, the Washington State Lottery will randomly select winning numbers among those assigned to each person in the Department of Health's immunization database. Entries are automatic, and any Washingtonian vaccinated in the state at any point before each drawing is eligible to win.

"This means you do not have to go anywhere to do anything, except get at least one vaccine dose if you have not already done so, to be entered into these draws," said Marcus Glasper, director of the Washington State Lottery. "Then, over the course of the next four weeks ... we will be using the lottery's random number generating system to conduct two drawings every Tuesday: One drawing for those Washingtonians 18 and older, and one focused on those ages 12 to 17, using the range of number provided by the Department of Health."

The first four drawings will award one winner $250,000, and a fifth drawing planned in July will feature a $1 million grand prize. Aside from the major cash prizes, the drawings will also select winners for a bounty of other rewards, including sports and airline tickets, gift cards, game consoles, free camping trips and more. Any prizes left over from the first four drawings will be added to the final lottery next month.

For the two youth-centered drawings, 30 winners between the ages of 12 and 17 will win a free year of college tuition through the state's Guaranteed Education Tuition program.

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Prizes include:

• Alaska Airlines tickets
• Seattle Mariners tickets/full suite
• Seattle Sounders tickets for August + signed jerseys
• Seattle Storm tickets for the rest of the season
• Seattle Seahawks club level tickets + parking passes
• OL Reign season tickets + signed jersey
• 300 Xboxes with Game Pass
• Nintendo Switches
• Google Nests
• Amazon Echo Dots
• 80 $250 gift cards for a week of free camping at Washington State Parks
• 80 $100 gift certificates for fishing and hunting licenses
• 400 Discover Passes

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Here are a few answers to frequently asked questions from the Washington State Lottery:

• Are prizes taxable and/or reportable to the IRS?
  • Yes. Washington’s Lottery reports to the IRS any prize valued at $600 or more, and winners will need to claim this when filing their 2021 federal taxes. For any prize valued at $5,000 or more, Washington’s Lottery is required to withhold 24% for taxes prior to providing a check to the winner.
• How is this promotion being funded?
  • “Shot of a Lifetime” is being funded by federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars that were appropriated by the State Legislature. This is the same approach taken by other states that have developed vaccine incentive programs through their state lotteries.
• Can people win more than once?
  • Upon receiving the names of the presumptive winners from DOH, Washington’s Lottery will scan for past winners of this promotion. No person can win more than one cash prize, but they are eligible for non-cash prizes.
• How long does someone have to claim a prize?
  • In order to win a prize, a presumptive winner must meet all eligibility requirements, respond within 72 hours of initial contact, and agree to the terms and conditions of the promotion.
• Is anyone NOT eligible?
  • Employees of the Governor’s Office, Washington State Department of Health, and Washington’s Lottery, as well as members of the Lottery Commission, are not eligible to win a prize. Additionally, family members (including spouses, children, brothers, sisters and/or parents) residing in the same household as an employee of any of these agencies or in the same household as a Commission member, are not eligible to win a prize.
  • Incarcerated persons are not eligible to win a prize, meaning anyone committed to total confinement in any federal, state, county or city correctional institution or facility at the time a prize is awarded.
  • Finally, some vaccine providers, such as the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs or other states in which people may have received a shot, do not enter vaccination records into the Washington State Immunization Information System at this time. As such, people receiving their vaccination through these providers will not be in the database through which winners will be chosen. That said, the State of Washington is currently working with these entities to request that information for residents of Washington and/or to find alternative methods for people to opt-in to having their records added to the database.

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Once the lottery has selected the winning numbers for the week, officials will contact the state Department of Health to match the numbers to the winning person's identity. Each winner will receive a phone call from the Washington State Lottery with instructions on how to claim their prize.

Separate from the lottery, the governor announced nearly $1 million headed to public four-year universities and two-year community and technical colleges to conduct their own drawings for free student tuition. The state Department of Commerce will also purchase $1 million in gift cards from various local businesses for giveaways at upcoming vaccination events, and the Department of Health will give up to $500,000 in gift cards away through their Care-a-Van mobile vaccination team.

Here are the dates for Washington's upcoming lottery drawings:

• Tuesday, June 8 ($250K + other prizes)
  • Winners contacted between June 9 and June 11
• Tuesday, June 15 ($250K + other prizes/youth tuition)
  • Winners contacted between June 16 and June 18
• Tuesday, June 22 ($250K + other prizes/youth tuition)
  • Winners contacted between June 23 and June 25
• Tuesday, June 29 ($250K + other prizes)
  • Winners contacted between June 30 and July 2
• Tuesday, July 13 ($1 million grand prize + remaining prizes)
  • Grand prize winner contacted by the next day

Learn more about how the drawings work on the Washington State Lottery's website.