Sandpoint farmer wins $2 million in Powerball

SPOKANE — When the fuel pump on Nathan Wood’s truck started making strange noises last week, he pulled into the nearest gas station, Arnie’s Payless Gas on Highway 200 in Kootenai, Idaho, to see what the trouble might be. Because he was already there, Wood purchased a few lottery tickets.

A few days later, the farmer from Sandpoint found out he had won $2 million when his wife told him one of the Powerball tickets matched the five white balls.

“I couldn’t believe it. And then, I went back to planting onions,” Wood said in an Idaho Lottery news release.

Wood owns Homewood Farm.

All Idaho Powerball tickets include PowerPlay, a feature that multiplies prizes on all nonjackpot winning tickets. Wood’s Powerball ticket matched all five of the first numbers, but not the Powerball number, making his ticket a $2 million winner.

Once his big win sank in, Wood said, he contacted his accountant and got all his paperwork together before making the trip to Boise to claim his prize.

Wood plans to fix the fuel pump on his truck and then make solid decisions on investing his winnings for the future.

For selling the winning ticket, Arnie’s Payless Gas receives a commission from the Idaho Lottery for $25,000.