Washington's Vaccine Lottery Begins Tuesday: Here's How It Works

SEATTLE — Vaccinated Washingtonians of all ages will have a chance to win hundreds of prizes over the next month during a series of upcoming lottery drawings. Gov. Jay Inslee announced the latest package of vaccination incentives Thursday, including $2 million in cash lottery prizes and $1.5 million in gift cards, as the state makes a final push to reopen early.

No matter what happens, Washington will reopen by June 30, but it could happen sooner if the state hits the 70 percent threshold for residents 16 and older receiving at least a first dose. As of Thursday, that figure was at 62.7 percent.

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

The Washington State Lottery will hold its first drawing on Tuesday, randomly selecting 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 with $250,000 each week, 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.

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

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 weekly 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.