Tye Graves

A flower vase was the perfect safe place for Tye Graves of Northwest to keep his District of Columbia Black tickets that he had entered in the Black ticket second chance drawing. So, when Graves was notified that he had won the $1,000 gift card for the June 2010 drawing, he knew exactly where his winning ticket was and was able to claim his prize. Last year, Graves had entered a different D.C. Lottery second chance drawing, but was unable to collect his $500 prize because he couldn't find his winning ticket. "I never did find my tickets," Graves recalled, "but I feel like this win makes up for it because I won twice as much." Smiling, Graves said he doesn't have any special plans for the money and may consider replacing his 15-year old television with a new one.