A trip to Buffalo Wild Wings for a to-go order before last Sunday’s Chiefs game paid off big for a lucky St. Joseph woman.

Gina Beaver still had her Shop St. Joseph tickets in the bottom of her purse when the winning numbers for the St. Joseph Metro Chamber’s annual holiday shopping program were drawn.

“I heard the numbers announced on the radio and wrote them down,” Ms. Beaver said. “I saw the tickets in my purse while I was at Darcee’s (School of Dance) and told my friend ‘I think I won.’ She laughed and said ‘yeah, right.’”

Ms. Beaver said she had more Shop St. Joseph tickets at home from her already-completed holiday shopping, but the three from Buffalo Wild Wings at the bottom of her purse were all she needed. She confirmed the number later online.

Ms. Beaver and her husband have two daughters, ages 7 and 10, who are very active at
Darcee’s. They plan to use the money to help pay for dance competitions and to put money into savings.

“They love to dance and I want to make sure they can keep doing what they love,” Ms. Beaver said. “This is a huge burden off of us.”

Ms. Beaver said she may use a little of the money for an extra special Christmas present for herself. She said she is very close to a cousin who lives in Arizona who she wanted to visit for Christmas. Now her family may go to Arizona, or she’ll pay for her cousin to fly here.

The Chamber also announced the ticket numbers for the second-chance prizes. Find those numbers here.