For the Reporter

Tamika Gunn of Auburn made a stop at her routine convenient store, Dollar Plus, at 3930 A St. SE, in Auburn, on Aug. 24, and walked out not knowing she held a “Neon 5s” Scratch ticket worth $50,000 in her hand.

“I waited until I got home to scratch the ticket and was in complete shock. Who knew I was holding onto $50,000 before I got home?” she told Lottery officials. “I first told my husband, then my mom, then my cousin … and pretty soon my whole family knew.”

When asked about her plans for the money, she said she was in the midst of planning a weekend getaway with her husband.

“We absolutely love Ocean Shores. A vacation there is one of the first things on our bucket list, now that we’ve crossed off winning the Lottery,” she shared, jokingly.

Gunn said this is her biggest Lottery win to date.

“I’ve won $10 here and there, and usually mix up which games I play. I’ll definitely continue to test my luck in hopes of winning again.”

The lottery

Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $3 billion to support important state programs, including the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. Money in the Pathways Account goes toward helping students achieve their higher education dreams and supports early childhood education learning programs.

The state’s Lottery offers consumers several types of games: Mega Millions, Powerball, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, The Daily Game, Daily Keno and Scratch.

For more information, visit www.walottery.com, or join www.facebook.com/walottery, or follow on Twitter @walottery.