No one had won jackpot in Oregon Lottery game in 24 years. Then 60-year-old buys ticket
.jpg "A 60-year-old lottery player from North Bonneville, Washington, scored the jackpot in an Oregon Lottery game.")
An Oregon Lottery jackpot hadn’t been hit in 24 years until a 60-year-old bought a winning ticket.
John Exley of North Bonneville, Washington, scored $1 million.
Exley bought a Keno lottery game Dec. 23 at a Safeway in Oregon City, the Oregon Lottery said in a Jan. 8 news release.
He picked a 10-spot game in Keno, meaning he got to choose 10 numbers from 1 to 80. And he added the Special Keno game play, which allows a player to win up to $1 million.
Exley matched the 10 numbers, scoring him the jackpot. Lottery officials said this kind of win is rare.
The last Keno jackpot was hit Feb. 16, 2000, according to lottery officials. A player has a 1 in 8 million chance of scoring it.
“One reason this type of win is so exciting, is because players must select the ‘Special Keno’ option to win a prize this size, and there aren’t many who do,” lottery product manager Tina Erickson said in the release.
Oregon City is about 15 miles south of Portland.
This story was originally published January 9, 2024 at 11:39 AM with the headline "No one had won jackpot in Oregon Lottery game in 24 years. Then 60-year-old buys ticket."
