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Holly Lahti came forward to solve the Mega Millions mystery.
The Rathdrum woman, described by acquaintances as 29 with two young kids and a boyfriend, answered the nation’s $190 million question by claiming her prize late Tuesday at the Idaho Lottery in Boise.
“She just about died (when she learned she had won),” said Brad Wilde, manager of Ady’s Convenience and Car Wash on Seltice Way in Post Falls. “One hundred-ninety million dollars is very hard to wrap your head around.”
Lahti purchased the ticket at Ady’s, a block from Inland Northwest Bank, her now former employer of more than three years. Wilde said Lahti bought the ticket during her lunch hour on Tuesday last week, then returned to the store on Wednesday to see if she was a winner.
Lahti is the second winner of last week’s Mega Millions jackpot of $380 million, the second-largest jackpot in United States history.
Lahti was not at a press conference in Boise on Wednesday during the announcement. She also was not available for public comment, said Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson.
“At the time of the media event, Ms. Lahti was traveling to an undisclosed destination,” an Idaho Lottery press release states.
Lahti was a customer service representative at INB from August 2007 until Monday when she gave her notice at the Post Falls branch effective immediately. She also previously worked at INB’s Coeur d’Alene branch.
“She is a great woman and she’ll do great things,” said Suzanna Spencer, INB’s Post Falls branch manager. “She’s an amazing person and we’re really excited for her. She’s a young, energetic woman who will go places.
“We’ve been holding it a secret for a week, and that was the hard part.”
Jim McCullar, 68, a retired Boeing worker from Ephrata, Wash., was the first winner to come forward. The two split the $380 million prize. The odds of winning were 1 in 176 million.
While the winning local ticket has been claimed, it has not been cashed as Lahti’s election of the annuity or cash option is pending. If she elects the one-time cash option, Lahti would receive a check for more than $80 million after taxes. If she chooses the annuity, twenty-six payments over 25 years, her annual payment would be $4.9 million after taxes. She has 60 days from Tuesday to make the decision.
Wilde said Lahti is a regular customer at the Ady’s store, but she’s not a regular lottery player.
“She very seldom plays the lottery,” he said. “In fact, (a clerk) had to explain to her that she could pick her numbers or they can randomly be picked for her.”
Wilde described Lahti as a “very down-to-earth and thoughtful young lady.”
“She took time to get help and direction,” he said. “She’s very deserving, and she should be able to help a lot of people. I was extremely happy for her.”
Anderson called Lahti, an Idaho native, a “delightful individual.”
Wilde said Lahti came into the store last Wednesday with two tickets to check. Her boyfriend had purchased a ticket in Rathdrum and it, the first to be checked, was a $10 winner.
Then Lahti’s prompted a message that stated there’s a winner with instructions to contact the Idaho Lottery.
“The fourth random pick (on the $5 ticket) had the winning numbers,” Wilde said. “We knew she was the big winner, but due to protocol with the lottery and her benefit, we had to keep it hush-hush until she claimed the prize.”
Wilde said the winning ticket is not only good for Lahti, her kids and the store, but for Post Falls and Idaho. While the East Coast has seemed to dominate large jackpot winnings, luck shined on the Northwest this time. Ephrata is just 150 miles away from Post Falls.
“It’s nice to have it happen in Post Falls,” Wilde said.
The largest jackpot ever was $390 million in March 2007. Two winners – in Georgia and New Jersey – split that Mega Millions prize. Mega Millions is sold in 41 states and Washington, D.C.
For selling the winning ticket, Ady’s owner Dave Ady will receive $50,000 from the Idaho Lottery, the highest amount the state offers a retailer for a jackpot winning. The Ephrata Safeway received $1.9 million – 1 percent of the winnings – plus a $50,000 bonus.
“Mr. Ady would love to be a millionaire, but that’s not the case,” Wilde said. “The law varies in every state.”
Ady could not be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
The Idaho Lottery did not release any information on Lahti or any photos like it normally does with press releases on big winners.
“We want to be respectful of our winner and to the extent possible, afford a certain amount of privacy as she begins to put her new life affairs in order,” Anderson said. “She has requested the media respect her privacy and not contact her until she’s prepared to speak.”
The winning tickets matched all five numbers (4, 8, 15, 25, 47) and the Mega Ball (42).
A $1 million winner who purchased a ticket in Post Falls for a Mega Millions draw in October still has not claimed the prize.
From: http://www.cdapress.com/

By RANDY LEWIS
Los Angeles Times
During the long television run in the 1950s and ’60s of “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet,” the couple’s older son, David Nelson, played the straight man, setting up the antics and often being on the receiving end of punch lines doled out by his wisecracking younger brother, “the irrepressible Ricky.”
Not only didn’t he mind being given a job often described as thankless, but in real life David Nelson, who died Tuesday at 74, took on a role few of the millions of viewers who watched the Nelson boys grow up ever knew about: behind-the-scenes hero.
That came about after Rick Nelson died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve in 1985, a tragedy that rocked the surviving members of “America’s favorite family – the Nelsons,” as they were introduced at the beginning of each week’s show.
Rick Nelson had been on tour playing the music that had been the source of great passion for him long before he first sang on TV in 1957, around the time he turned 17, performing Fats Domino’s “I’m Walking.” That record reportedly sold 1 million copies within a week after the show aired, an early demonstration of the power and reach of the still-young medium.
Rick’s music career had a series of ups and downs, but he continued recording and touring for two decades after his heyday as America’s original teen idol. At the time of the plane crash, which also took the lives of six other people, he’d been divorced, nastily, from his wife, Kristin, and was often separated for long periods from their four children: twins Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, who became pop stars in their own right in the ’90s, their sister Tracy and younger brother Sam.
“When my dad died, it happened so suddenly, but through his own grief David managed not only to take care of my grandmother (Harriet) – and it was just horrible for her – but he really protected Rick’s kids,” Matthew Nelson, 43, said Wednesday from aboard the cruise ship on which he and Gunnar are performing a show that pays tribute to their father’s life and career. By extension, it also highlights David’s role in the family.
“David was the executor of the estate, and frankly the estate was really a mess at the time because of all kinds of things: divorce, debt, so many different things. It took a long time, and it was a long struggle for him to straighten things out,” Matthew said.
“I really got to see what kind of character he had when my father passed away,” Matthew said. “He was the guy that stepped up to the plate and said, ‘I’m going to do this for my brother and for his kids.’ I’ll always thank him for that.”
Because Matthew and Gunnar have devoted significant time in recent years to their “Ricky Nelson Remembered” show, they regularly encounter audience members who tell them about the special bond they feel with the Nelson family.
“That will never happen again,” he said. “People felt like our family was their family.” Ozzie died at 68 in 1975, and Harriet followed nearly 20 years later, in 1994, at age 85.
Most of the twins’ time nowadays is spent doing either the Rick Nelson tribute show or touring with their own music. Matthew said their brother Sam took over responsibilities working closely with their uncle on projects involving “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” show. Those projects went onto the back burner in recent years when David began battling the colon cancer that took his life this week.
“One blessing Gunnar and I had was that when our father passed, we realized we have an amazing legacy of his music, and we feel fortunate that we get to play it from time to time,” he said. “The ‘Ozzie & Harriet’ show is still around and I hope we can work with David’s family so that America gets to see more of it.
“When I look at the episodes and go through them, we’re serious about preserving that legacy and forwarding it into the future, and for the kids I intend to have, because they’re our home movies. And it would not have worked without David. He was the quintessential straight man. He set up all the jokes, and it would not have worked without him, on so many different levels. You see how talented he was.”
From: http://www.kansascity.com/

If I could hand pick someone to win a bunch of money, it would probably be a nice, mild-mannered, humble person who could really use some extra cash. Not a flamboyant loud-mouth who’d also seek fame alongside the millions, but, instead, someone who’d go on living their normal life while putting the money to good use. Someone young, too. Someone with their whole life ahead of them.
Given that, I couldn’t have picked a better Mega Millions winner than the woman who actually won the jackpot on Tuesday if I tried.
And that person is Holly Lahti. That’s right, folks. Holly Lahti just won herself a whole(l) lot(ty) of money. (That was just horrible. So sorry…) ABC reports that the woman is believed to be the single mom of two and is approximately 30 years of age. Her pull? $190 million. There was another winning ticket or else Lahti would have won twice that amount. (Quick quiz — what’s two multiplied by infinity?)
But here’s the best part. Lahti is shunning the spotlight. In fact, she wouldn’t even let lottery officials disclose her hometown. All that is known is that she hails from somewhere in northern Idaho. She stands in stark contrast to co-winner, Jim McCullar, who soaked up the limelight in a 30 minute press conference. In fact, Lahti declined the opportunity of a press conference altogether.
Lahti is used to handling a bunch of cash. She works as a bank teller. Well, worked as a bank teller. Sources tell a local ABC affiliate that she quit her job upon hearing the news.
Brad Wilde, the manager of Ady’s Convenience and Car Wash where Lahti purchased the winning ticket, was very complimentary of the suddenly wealthy woman. “She’s very sweet. Very down to earth. Just a really nice person. Good head on her shoulders. I think she’ll do very well.”
I hope he’s right. I know all about single moms. I fell in love with one and married her. And during our courtship, I saw firsthand how difficult her job was. Don’t get me wrong. Money will not make all of Lahti’s problems go away. But if she’s as down to earth as she seems to be, it sure won’t hurt her cause to have a few extra Benjamins lining the ol’ pocketbook.
But something tells me she won’t be a single mom for long. And given how low-key she’s chosen to make her life changing event, I’d be willing to bet one thing for sure: show me the man who ends up marrying her, and I’ll show you one lucky son-of-a-gun.
And it has nothing to do with his bride’s bounty.
Congratulations, Holly. Use the extra cash wisely!
From: http://blogs.babble.com/