East Idaho woman wins $1 million playing grocery store Monopoly game
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IDAHO FALLS — An eastern Idaho woman is now a millionaire after winning the grand prize in a grocery store game.
Mary D., who asked to keep her last name private, was given a $1 million check Wednesday during a presentation at Albertsons on West Broadway St. in Idaho Falls. Mary won the grand prize playing the Monopoly Shop, Play, Win game.
“A few weeks ago I got the winning ticket,” Mary tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I had a whole stack (of tickets) that I was going through while watching TV. I had the other seven tickets (for the million dollar prize) and I opened up the winning ticket. I saw it and I thought, ‘Is this what I think it is?'”
Mary read the instructions on how to redeem her prize and wanted to make sure to follow all the rules. She sent the game pieces to Albertsons and waited to hear if everything was valid.
“The chances were like one in 625 million of getting the winning ticket so I wasn’t sure if was real,” Mary says.
Albertsons management recently contacted Mary and confirmed she was indeed the winner. As she received her check, Mary said she planned to pay off debt as part of the Dave Ramsey “Total Money Makeover” program.
“The most exciting part of winning is getting one step closer to financial independence and being able to help other people too,” Mary says. “I promise I will do my utmost to educate myself and spend this money wisely. It’s a huge leap down the road to financial freedom and self-reliance.”
Friends, family members and shoppers celebrated the announcement at Albertsons by eating Monopoly-themed cupcakes.
And, for those still playing Monopoly, managers say one other million dollar grand prize ticket remains up for grabs.
“There’s a lot of people out there that think these games are rigged and so today’s the day folks get to witness that these games are real,” says John Colgrove, Albertsons Intermountain Division President. “We did in fact give away $1 million and we are so proud to do that right here in Idaho Falls.”
EastIdahoNews.com will update this story with new details once released.