BOISE, Idaho — Dreaming of winning the lottery is something many of us can relate to, but in the state of Idaho, it's sometimes just the first step to a larger prize.
For just under a year now, the Idaho Lottery's Big Spin scratch game has been giving lucky Idahoans a chance to increase their winnings.
"Players have a chance to spin an enormous wheel to win cash," Sherie Moody-St. Clair, the marketing director for Idaho Lottery, said. "It's really an experience. A fun extension of a scratch ticket."
An extension that can earn players up to $125,000 in extra winnings, but none of that would be possible without the 1,000 lbs wheel sitting at the Boise Towne Square mall.
It's not just the sheer size of the Big Spin Wheel that catches people's attention. The wheel was intentionally decorated with a wide array of colors and details that kept the Gem State specifically in mind.
"The artwork that goes around it really captures the diversity that Idaho has in a unifying way," Idaho Lottery Public Information Specialist David Workman said. "That brings communities together from as far north as Priest River, all the way down to southeast Idaho and back around Pocatello and Idaho Falls."
The creators of Idaho's Big Spin Wheel say it is one of a kind, from the colors down to the last detail.
"We did all the graphics," Moody-St. Clair said. "We decided the prize amounts we wanted and how they were going to lay out and the colors and everything."
Not only is the wheel one of a kind, the lottery game is also something that is pretty exclusive to Idaho and it took three years to develop.
"It was quite an ordeal," Moody-St. Clair said. "From when we wanted to do the game, to all the programming, manufacturing, getting it here and for the game itself."
But in its short history, the Big Spin scratch game has already had a big impact for the Idahans who have played. In just 11 months since the wheel was brought to Idaho, 14 winners have hit the jackpot.
"The overwhelming feeling that you've made an impact and a difference for the direction of their lives and the lives of everyone who comes through, it's very rewarding to be able to do," Workman said.
There have already been five winners this year, and we're only halfway through 2023.
"That's quite a few numbers of folks who have come through and have spun the wheel," Worman said, "and they've been from all across the state."
Of course, the number one question people have for organizers is whether there's a trick to winning the largest amount.
"Even and fluid, that would be my recommendation for folks," Workman said. "If you have the energy and strength, go ahead and let it go — there is nothing wrong with watching that wheel wiz around and land on the winning prize."
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