Brian LaCasse of Meridian might have had the happiest Thanksgiving of anyone in Idaho this year. LaCasse is a regular Idaho Lottery player and he won the Weekly Grand jackpot on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving from a ticket he almost didn’t buy.
“I play my own numbers over and over. I don’t like to miss a draw because you’re always worried your numbers will come up,” explained LaCasse on his decision to buy his ticket at the Maverik in Meridian on Cherry Lane. “I had just closed my landscaping business for the year because it was snowing pretty good and I debated whether I wanted to go to the store to buy my tickets for Wednesday night or not.”
Ultimately he decided to venture out into the cold and snow to buy his tickets. Normally an early riser, LaCasse was up by 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning and checked his tickets on the Idaho Lottery’s website. He couldn’t believe what he saw.
“At first I thought I’d won $200. Then I noticed I the other number, too,” added LaCasse. “I told my wife and that was it. We had two Thanksgiving dinners to go to and I just sat and smiled and smiled through both of them.”
LaCasse claimed his winning ticket the Friday after Thanksgiving. He will receive $1,000 a week every week for a year, with the withholding taxes paid for by the Idaho Lottery. LaCasse said he plans to pay off some bills and maybe take his fishing boat somewhere warm to fish during the winter until his business starts up next spring.
