FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/Gray Media) – An Alaskan man said that he still plans to keep working after winning the state’s biggest lottery jackpot.
When Jeremy Whitmore checked his Lotto Alaska numbers on Sunday, the word “Congratulations” popped up on his phone before disappearing.
Then the phone rang, letting Whitmore know he had won more than $17 million with Lotto Alaska’s Chase the Ace Lottery.
Having played Chase the Ace for at least a year, Whitmore found that he was unable to sleep on Sunday night after receiving the news.
He said he’d gone “from shock to sleeplessness to wondering what the hell we’re going to do next.”
Whitmore traveled to Fairbanks on Tuesday, a week after buying his winning ticket, with his wife, Ursula, to accept a check for $17,373,025.40 from Lotto Alaska’s Pull Tabs location.
When presenting the check, Bob Lester estimated that this was the largest jackpot in state history.
“I don’t think anyone’s won even close to this,” he said.
Whitmore said the win hasn’t kicked in yet, adding that it’ll probably become real when he sees the money in his account.
As for what he will do when the money drops, he and his wife have discussed paying off the mortgage and getting out of debt. They’ve also discussed buying a new truck and making a trip to Germany to visit friends.
Beyond that, the winner said he has no intention of quitting his job as a miner.
“We still have one daughter who’s still in high school, so we’ll just keep on trucking,” Whitmore explained.
Meanwhile, Whitmore said he plans to fly back to Juneau on Wednesday.
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