Family tradition helps Pocatello man win $200,000 at EISF
A Pocatello man went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair on Saturday, visited the Idaho Lottery event trailer and the Lottery’s Wooh Crew and won $200,000 on the Scratch Game Juggernaut Jackpot.
Jerrit Elmer, originally from Blackfoot who resides in Pocatello, has gone to the Eastern Idaho State Fair his entire life.
When he was younger, he would visit the fair with his grandparents who often visited the Idaho Lottery event trailer.
Once Elmer was old enough to play, he always made it a point to the visit the Idaho Lottery event trailer and play Idaho Lottery Scratch tickets.
This year was no different when he attended the fair with his wife, Shanelle, and their 10 children.
“He was eager to get to the Lottery booth to play, but I made him go see the giant horse and the giant pig, first,” laughed Shanelle when the couple claimed their ticket in Boise on Tuesday morning.
“I couldn’t wait. Playing the Lottery at the Fair is a family tradition, it’s what we always do,” explained Elmer. “I bought a Bronco pack for my dad, then some tickets for us. I had some winners and went back to the booth, cashed them, and spent a little more and got the ticket.”
Elmer bought his ticket from Wooh Crew member Owen Armbruster. He only scratched the barcode on the ticket and gave it to Gabby Reeves, the Wooh Crew Supervisor, who checked the ticket.
“I told him he was going to need to go to Boise to cash the ticket,” said Reeves. “He wanted to see how much he’d won, but I made him sign it first before he scratched the rest of it.”
After signing it, Elmer scratched the ticket while Reeves watched. He had a hard time figuring out exactly where he’d won. When Reeves pointed out the $200,000 win, she said Elmer got really excited.
“His expression was priceless. I got chills,” said Reeves.
After winning, Elmer quickly collected his entire family and left. A few hours later he returned to thank everyone at the event trailer.
“This is life-changing,” said Elmer. “You can’t win if you don’t have a ticket.”
“He says that all the time and I believe him now,” said Shanelle. “This win is coming at a perfect time for us. Thank you.”
Elmer and his family plan to use their winnings to upgrade their residence in Pocatello.
The $200,000 win on the Scratch Game Juggernaut Jackpot is the single largest winning ticket ever sold by the Idaho Lottery at one of their event trailer’s by their event team the Wooh Crew.
