Casper Couple Claims $582,000 Lottery Prize

Jim Cunkle of Casper says he bought a lottery ticket on June 30, left it in his work truck and forgot about it.

But he's glad now he took the time to check it later.

Cunkle says he often buys WyoLotto tickets and typically doesn't bother to check them right away. He says after buying a ticket at Max's in Casper he followed his normal procedure, forgetting about it as the ticket sat in his truck.

He says he heard on the radio that a winning ticket had been sold in Casper with the winner so far not coming forward, but didn't give the matter any thought.

He says one day when he had time, he saw the ticket, ran the number and realized the ticket was a Cowboy Draw jackpot winner worth $582,055.

He describes his feeling as "total shock". After checking four times to make sure the numbers actually did match, he called Wyolotto, being put on hold before he found out  he was indeed the newest jackpot winner in the Wyolotto Cowboy Draw contest.

Cunkle is a master HVAC mechanic and his wife Terri works in a Casper store. He says they plan to put the money in the bank for retirement, adding "We're frugal people."

And he plans to continue playing the lottery the same as always.