Lucky Catch! Utah Man Claims $1,000,000 Mega Millions Ticket

Drawing Date: 6/5/2015

June 9, 2015 - About two weeks ago, Jay Cranney of Sandy, Utah, was competing in a fishing tournament in southeastern Idaho, near Clifton. After the tournament was over, Cranney headed back to Utah and made a stop at La Tienda in Franklin to pick up a few Idaho Lottery tickets including a multi-draw Mega Millions ticket.

“It had been a few days since I checked all of my tickets, so I knew I needed to catch up,” explained Cranney, who checked all of his tickets last Saturday. “I looked, and looked, and looked, just to be sure I wasn’t seeing things. All those numbers matched up.”

Cranney, who selects his own numbers, matched the first five numbers but not the Mega Ball and won $1,000,000 in last Friday night’s Mega Millions draw.

“I did alright in the fishing tournament,” said Cranney on his visit to the Gem State. “But I got a lucky catch on Mega Millions!”

With his winnings, Cranney plans to pay off some outstanding debts, buy himself a new bass fishing boat, and then invest his remain amount.

Asked where he was headed when he left Boise with his winnings, Cranney replied, “Going fishing. There’s another tournament tomorrow!”

For their part in selling the winning ticket, La Tienda in Franklin receives a bonus from the Idaho Lottery of $20,000. La Tienda is the only Idaho Lottery retailer to sell a $1,000,000 winning ticket on both Mega Millions and Powerball. La Tienda previously sold a $1,000,000 winning Powerball ticket in December 2010.