Reporter Staff
Ralph Arnett, an information technology worker from Kirkland, thought his odds were pretty good when he picked up the phone on the afternoon of June 27 to call the Washington State Lottery’s customer service line. He’d just learned that a winning raffle ticket worth a million dollars had been sold in Kirkland — at the same Shell station where he’d purchased his. Suddenly, his once-long odds seemed pretty short.
Arnett bought his ticket at the Sami’s Shell station at 10801 68th Street. He told the customer service representative he hoped his ticket was the store’s winner. After a brief pause, the Lottery representative asked Arnett if he was sitting down.
“Congratulations, Mr. Arnett, you’ve won $1 million,” said the customer service representative.
That’s when Arnett said he went into a mild state of shock.
“My heart was racing so fast I thought it would explode,” Arnett said through a press release. “My heart knew, but my mind couldn’t believe it.”
He immediately called his two brothers to share the news. His older brother, Randy, congratulated him. His younger brother, John, laughed and said he did not believe it. Arnett called John back an hour later and told him he was joking about winning.
“Seeing has always been believing with John,” Arnett said. “Randy and I decided we’d have to prove that I won, so we picked him up on our way to claim the prize from the Lottery office.”
When they walked into the Everett Lottery office to claim the million dollar raffle prize, John was shocked.
“I am so happy for my brother,” John said. “I just didn’t believe him. It’s so hard to believe that someone as close to you as your brother could win the Lottery, but I’m really glad he did.”
After celebrating with his two brothers, Arnett plans to save most of the money and take time to dream about how he’d like to spend his winnings.
“I’ve always wanted to buy a sailboat and cruise down to Australia,” Arnett says. “I’m at an age where I can really appreciate winning. I just want to make sure I think about what to do with the money enough, that the appreciation shines through.”
Arnett was the second of three “Million Dollar Raffle” winners to claim the prize when he matched the winning numbers 061103. He turned the winning ticket into the Lottery’s regional office in Everett on Monday, June 30. One winning ticket, number 103710, has yet to be claimed. That ticket was sold at the Tracyton Market at 5010 May Street NW in Bremerton.
Arnett is the second local man to win big playing the Washington State Lottery in the last eight months. In December Dennis Hope, a Pierce County firefighter who lives in Kirkland, won $480,000 playing the “Hit 5” game. Hope purchased the winning ticket at the Market on Central at 255 Central Way.
