Edmonds man wins $670,000 lottery jackpot

Published 5:21 pm Tuesday, July 8, 2008

EDMONDS — A 71-year-old Edmonds man is the most recent Snohomish County resident to win big money in Washington’s Lottery.

Joseph Fortolese, a retired University of Washington professor, won a $670,000 cashpot from a Hit 5 ticket he bought at Top Food &Drug on Highway 99 in Edmonds. His winning numbers, 11-23-25-30-36, were drawn June 28.

He realized he held a winning ticket while looking through a stack of newspapers after returning home from vacation in California, Washington’s Lottery spokeswoman Jacque Coe said.

Snohomish County residents have recently had a run of good luck in playing the lottery.

In June, Hans and Margaret Stampfli of Marysville collected $1 million from Washington’s Lottery new Raffle game on Friday. The couple, both 29, were expecting their third child when they won.

In February, Owen Osborn, 48, of Smokey Point, won a $2.3 million jackpot from a ticket he bought at 7-Eleven on Broadway in Everett.

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.