Winners

All It Took to Win $100,000 was “22 years, 2 months, 18 days, 12 hours and 28 minutes”It is often said, inspiration comes in many forms. For Francisco Rios of Hartford, it was an early episode of a 1958 Western television series, Bronco that inspired him to play five particular numbers in the CT Lottery's draw game, Cash5.

“(The episode) was about a guy who was buried in a glacier for 22 years, 2 months, 18 days, 12 hours and 28 minutes,” Francisco excitedly explained to Lottery officials. “I said, 22, 2, 18, 12 and 28. That’s five numbers—those are good numbers for Cash5!”

And so it began. For the last year and a half, Francisco consistently played Cash5 until Friday, July 27, his numbers were unbelievably drawn, right before his eyes. “I was watching the drawing on TV and saw the first numbers were 12, 18, 22, and thought yeah—I won $10! And then 22—I got $300! And the final number is 28, and I jumped out of the chair! I never thought I could hit five numbers!”

Francisco matched all five of the winning Cash5 drawn on July 27— 2 - 12 - 18 - 22 - 28. In total, 3,730 winning tickets were sold statewide, with prizes ranging in value from $2 to the $100,000 Francisco won.

Yesterday, Francisco and his family arrived at CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill to collect his $100,000 prize. Still clearly elated over his good fortune — and his love of the TV show, Bronco, Francisco was also easily able to detail how he planned to put his prize to good use. “I need a better car, one that’s good in the snow. I’ll share a little bit with family; pay all the bills and save the rest for emergencies.”

Francisco’s Cash5 winning ticket was purchased at ShopRite, located at 46 Kane Street in West Hartford. ShopRite will receive a $1,000 bonus from the CT Lottery for selling the winning ticket.