The Holiday Station Store on Brundage Lane in Sheridan was filled with excitement on Sunday as crowds gathered around to watch local grandmother, Mary Ogg, purchase the first lottery tickets ever to be sold in the state of Wyoming.
Ogg bought US Powerball and US Mega million tickets at 11:55, just minutes before WyoLotto tickets became available from lottery retailers all over the state.
Although she will have to wait until the respective draw dates to discover if she has hit the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpots, Ogg became a Wyoming Lottery winner last week when she won the lottery's Launch Day Giveaway competition and secured the right to buy the first tickets in the state from a retailer of her choice. She also won a nice new Jeep Wrangler so she had every excuse to flash a winning smile when she purchased her tickets.
Ogg purchased the first ticket using a $2 bill given to her by Senator Bruce Burns of Big Horn and later wrote her signature across the bill, which will be kept as a memento by Wyoming Lottery officials.
Ticket sales opened elsewhere in the state at noon and Green River resident, Deborah Harper, marked the occasion by splashing out $100 on Powerball and Mega Millions tickets.
"This is the first time I've ever purchased lottery tickets in my life," she said. "I was very excited to come out here for the opening that I couldn't sleep last night."
Fellow player, Sandi Lininger, was also excited to finally get her hands on some tickets.
"They've been saying that the lottery would get here over a year and a half ago," she said. "It's nice to finally have it available."
