Two winners split largest Lotto jackpot in 17 years

Two players stepped forward on Tuesday to each claim half of the $3.225 million Lotto jackpot for the Oct. 10 drawing, which amounted to $1,620,830 for each player. The winning amount is the highest Lotto jackpot won since 1998.

Karen Trosclair, a 54-year-old Church Point resident, and Victoria Cochran, a 53-year-old DeRidder resident, both received $1,134,581 after state and federal tax withholdings. Trosclair’s winning ticket was purchased at The Quarters Travel Plaza on Highway 744 in Opelousas. Cochran purchased her winning ticket at Valero Corner Store #383 on East 4th Street in DeQuincy. Both stores will receive a one-time selling bonus of $16,208.30, which is one percent of the split jackpot prize.

Missy Veillon, Valero Corner Store #383 store manager, said she’s already planning a way to use part of the store’s Lottery selling bonus.

“We are going to try to do something locally,” Veillon said. “We might donate to a food bank here in town.”

Veillon said participating as a Lottery retailer enables her to interact more with the tight-knit community encompassing DeQuincy.

“It’s been fun because you see so many faces,” she said. “It’s a small community and pretty much everybody knows everybody, and it’s a great town to live in.” 

Pat Willis, co-owner and general manager of The Quarters Travel Plaza, said there’s a few ongoing projects around his store that could benefit from the selling bonus his store will receive from the Lottery.

“We’ve got a number of improvement projects and we’ll probably put it…towards those projects,” he said. “The future plan is to change all of the inside lighting to LED to cut down on energy use and maintenance costs.”

Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Draw-style game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem should call toll free 1-877-770-7867 for help.

For security purposes, the Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing. More information about other Lotto winners can be found on the Lottery’s website, www.louisianalottery.com.