Winning $100,000 lottery ticket purchased in Whitefish

A winner of the $100,000 Montana Millionaire lottery ticket purchased in Whitefish has claimed his prize.

Havre resident Richard Hentschel purchased his ticket at Markus Foods in Whitefish on his birthday. He claimed his prize Friday at the Montana Lottery office in Helena with his father, wife and son in tow.

Avid Player’s Club participants, Hentschel’s wife had already entered all their bonus play codes online and practically had their ticket numbers memorized. So when the winning numbers were announced she new immediately that they had won.

Hentschel and his wife ran home on their lunch breaks and confirmed what they already knew — they had won $100,000. They then waited for their son to arrive home and had him check the numbers as well so he could experience the excitement firsthand.

With his winnings, Hentschel plans to pay off some bills, put some in savings and use the rest to visit their oldest son who is currently in Arizona for college.

The Montana Lottery was created by referendum in 1986. Since then, it has paid more than $483 million in prizes and returned approximately $217 million to the state.