BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô Winning seems to come in pairs these days in eastern Idaho. For the second time in as many months, two jackpot winning tickets worth $77,380 each were claimed on the same day from the Idaho Lottery's newest Draw Game Weekly Grand. Both tickets were sold in eastern Idaho, the first in Malad and the second in Idaho Falls. Each winning ticket is worth $52,000 after taxes are paid by the Idaho Lottery.

Michael Arakaki from Salt Lake City, Utah became Weekly Grand's first jackpot winner on a ticket he purchased from Kwik Stop in Malad City for the Saturday, October 15, 2011 draw. Arakaki is the "go-to-guy" for his office Powerball pool and makes the drive from Utah to Idaho regularly to buy the group's tickets. He decided to play Weekly Grand because it was new and had great odds but didn't realize he was holding the jackpot-winning ticket until he visited Malad.

"I was in Kwik Stop getting more Powerball tickets for the group and I checked my Weekly Grand ticket with the check-a-ticket scanner. It said to take it to customer service, so I had the clerk check my ticket," explained Arakaki. "When she scanned it, she let out a shriek and started to jump up and down screaming 'I think you're the winner!' I said to her, 'the winner of what'? Then she explained it to me."

The jackpot-winning prize on Weekly Grand earns Arakaki $1,000 a week, each week for a year, after taxes are paid by the Idaho Lottery. Arakaki plans to pay bills and live a bit easier with his new winnings.

Weekly Grand started as a new, Idaho-only draw game on August 18, 2011 with draws held every Wednesday and Saturday nights. Arakaki's was the first jackpot-winning ticket.

The second Weekly Grand jackpot winning ticket was sold for the very next draw on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 from Smith's Food & Drug on Woodruff in Idaho Falls. Mr. H. Morton of Idaho Falls claimed Weekly Grand's second jackpot prize of $1,000 a week, each week for a year, after taxes. Mr. Morton is not available for public comment.

Both winning tickets were claimed on October 26, 2011. This is the second set of simultaneous winners from eastern Idaho in the last two months. In September, one individual from Rigby and another from Idaho Falls each won $100,000 on the same day.

For their parts in selling the winning tickets, Kwik Stop in Malad City and Smith's Food & Drug in Idaho Falls will each receive a bonus from the Idaho Lottery of $7,738.

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