Media-ready jpg of John Stoss
Media-ready jpg of Boat Presentation
(l-r) Lottery Executive Director Ed Van Petten, Winner John Stoss, Shelli Stoss; Tony Poore, Cougar Boats Owner
Media-ready jpg of Hoisington Crowd
Microsoft Word document of news release

DATE: June 5, 2008
CONTACT: Sally Lunsford (785) 296-5708, sally.lunsford@kslottery.net

Lottery Presents $47,000 Custom Boat Grand Prize in Hoisington

TOPEKA, KAN. – Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery Ed Van Petten was in Hoisington Thursday, June 5 to present a very happy Hoisington man with the grand prize he won in a second-chance drawing.

John Stoss of Hoisington was one of two lucky winners in the Cougar and Cash drawing. Stoss won an “Infinity 201” boat manufactured by Cougar Custom Boats in Hill City, Kan., plus a trailer and a boating accessory package. In addition, the boat is outfitted with a Garmin Fishfinder manufactured by Garmin, headquartered in Olathe. The Lottery also paid the mandatory income withholding taxes on the prize, bringing the total value of the grand prize to approximately $47,000.

“This is just fantastic – what a great boat – I really can’t believe it,” Stoss said.

Van Petten and other Lottery staff, along with representatives of Cougar Custom Boats, presented Stoss with his grand prize right off Main Street in Hoisington, where 40-50 of Stoss’ family and friends had gathered to congratulate him. Lottery staff agreed that Stoss was one of the happiest winners they had ever seen and the group that came to enthusiastically congratulate him made the presentation extra special.

Stoss’ daughter Shelli Stoss said her dad had purchased six Cougar & Cash tickets at the 3i Show in Great Bend in May and he was going to throw away the non-winners until Shelli convinced him to enter them into the second-chance drawing. Stoss’ entries were among approximately 40,000 the Lottery received for the drawing.

The May 17 drawing, held at Riverfest in Wichita, was the culmination of the Lottery’s $5 Cougar and Cash instant scratch game. Players could win up to $25,000 instantly playing the game or, if they didn’t win an instant prize, enter their non-winning tickets into a second-chance drawing.

A second player, Bob Morey of Wichita, won a grand prize identical to the prize won by John Stoss in the drawing. The Lottery will present Morey with his boat at a later date.

Cougar and Cash, launched last December, was a Made in Kansas ticket, in which the Lottery partnered with Cougar Custom Boats, Garmin, and Riverfest. The Lottery’s Made in Kansas games promote Kansas businesses, industry and tourism by offering Kansas-made products and Kansas areas, attractions and events as grand prizes in second-chance drawings. The games are a result of a strategic alliance formed by the Kansas Lottery and the Kansas Dept. of Commerce. The state tagline "KANSAS, as big as you think" appears on these tickets.