Washington Lotto Winners Have Modest Plans They’ll Start College Funds For Their Daughters

Doug and Tracey Wakefield jumped three tax brackets Saturday.

The Spokane Valley couple, both 25 and the parents of two toddlers, won $6.3 million in the Washington State Lottery drawing.

The Wakefields picked up the first of 20 annual checks Monday. Even after paying $88,666.66 in federal income taxes - twice their combined wages last year - they took home $228,000.

“And one cent,” said Doug Wakefield, a Cheney High School graduate who ran a saw at Trumark Industries until Monday.

Now, he plans to volunteer at the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, where his late father learned to walk again at age 19 after having contracted polio.

“I’ve never really had the time to do it,” he said.

Tracey Wakefield, a shipping coordinator at Snyder’s Bakery in the Valley, said she’ll keep her job for now. Her boss thinks she’s nuts.

Considering the extent of their wealth, the couple’s plans are modest.

They said they’ll start college funds for their daughters and pay off the Mitsubishi Mirage they bought in November and Mazda pickup they bought in February. Doug Wakefield said he’d like to customize the pickup and buy a 23-foot Bayliner boat. On second thought, he said, a 24-footer.

The couple talked briefly about building a dream house near Mount Spokane but decided to buy a house in Otis Orchards instead. That way, their kids can go to Tracey’s alma mater, East Valley High School. They’re looking for something bigger than the duplex they now rent - something in the $100,000 to $150,000 range.

“I’ve wanted a house forever and ever,” Tracey Wakefield said. “Now, I’ll be able to get it.”

Two other people became millionaires in Saturday’s drawing but hadn’t claimed their money Monday.

As for Wakefields, they’re still hoping to hit it big.

“We’re waiting to hear back from a couple of sweepstakes, like Reader’s Digest,” said Doug Wakefield.