Who Is The Largest Lottery Winner In Montana's History

The Biggest Lottery Winner In Montana History

Last weekend in just over 6 hours the Montana Millionaire lottery sold over 600,000 tickets.

I did not join the many Montana residents who purchased a ticket; I simply chose to stay in bed.

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The ‘What If’ Every Montanan Thinks About

Just because I didn't play doesn't mean I haven't fantasized about what it would be like to win the lottery.

Would I use it to buy a house, a new car, or maybe start a business, or just retire and enjoy life?

It also got me thinking about the biggest lottery winner in Montana's history, and when I found out their story, I was shocked to find out it almost was a tragedy.

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From Trash To Treasure: Montana’s $96 Million Miracle

While someone will become a millionaire when the Montana Millionaire drawing takes place on December 26th, it was back in 2008 that Montana got its biggest lottery winner, but it almost didn't happen.

According to the Powerball website:

Kim Claassen and Joe Lamport Jr. became Montana’s biggest Powerball winners on June 23, 2010 when they won half of a $96 million jackpot. The other winning ticket was sold in Ohio. Kim and Joe were given a major scare before they claimed their prize, though, as Kim had torn the ticket into four pieces and thrown it in the trash, believing it to be a losing entry. However, she had mistakenly been looking at the numbers from the previous drawing. Kim then had to retrieve the ticket the next day after a colleague told her that a winning entry had been sold at the Town Pump on North Montana Avenue in Helena, which is where she had played. Kim pieced the ticket back together again and its authenticity was verified when she dropped into the Montana Lottery headquarters just up the road. Kim and Joe, who had worked together in healthcare for several years, decided to take the lump sum of $25 million rather than the annuity option of $48 million, and said they would enjoy the money with their families. Kim, who was recently divorced, said she would even help out her ex-husband.

Source: Powerball

LOOK: The largest lottery jackpots in US history

Stacker compiled a list of the 15 largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history from news reports and lottery press releases. [This list is current as of July 25, 2023.]

Gallery Credit: Chandler Friedman

KEEP READING: Check Out the Frivolous Things People Say They’d Spend Money on if They Won the Lottery

We asked people what frivolous thing they'd spend money on if they won the lottery (after all bills and such are paid, obviously) and their answers didn't disappoint!

Gallery Credit: Traci Taylor