Columbia Falls woman wins Montana Millionaire

Casey Petero of Columbia Falls is a Montana Millionaire winner.

The winning ticket was a gift from her father-in-law, noted Montana Lottery officials.

When the Montana Lottery announced the winning Montana Millionaire number two days after Christmas, the ticket was sitting on Petero’s counter at home. Petero, a training specialist and mother of four young children, saw the winning number that day when she was scrolling through her Facebook feed. It looked familiar.

“I called my husband at work and told him I think I just won the lottery,” Petero said last week when she was in Helena with her family claiming the top prize. “He hung up on me in disbelief!”

Petero claimed her prize on Dec. 30 – marking the 13th time the Montana Lottery has made a millionaire since launching the popular raffle game in 2007. The winning ticket was purchased at Town Pump of Kalispell on U.S. Highway 2 East.

The whole family enjoyed the excitement of Montana Millionaire. Petero’s father-in-law purchased multiple tickets for his family members. When the winning number was announced, a number of them were within one to two digits away from the winning number.

Petero said she plans to pay off the family’s home mortgage – and put the rest away for her children’s future.

When asked what she likes most about the Montana Lottery, Petero had an easy answer.

“Winning the million dollars!” she said.