Friends for over 40 Years Win $7.4 Million Jackpot

Jan. 28, 2021 – Salem, Ore. – A good friendship is priceless, as Erik Maki and Brian Krahmer will tell you. The duo has been friends since middle school and after more than 40 years of sharing a friendship, they can also say they share a $7.4 million Oregon’s Game Megabucks jackpot.

Over the past 28 weeks, Maki and Krahmer, both of Hillsboro, who have also worked together for 25 years, have been taking turns buying Megabucks tickets.

“We always check our tickets on Monday,” said Maki, who has also worked with Krahmer for 25 years. “The best we’d done had been winning a free ticket! Our offices are next door to each other and Brian brought the ticket and said we’d won $7,400. We were pretty excited about that. Then Brian decided to check what number we’d missed and he compared the ticket to the Lottery app. That’s when he saw that we’d matched all six numbers and we’d really won $7.4 million!”

The first thing they did was contact their wives to tell them the news. “They didn’t believe us at first,” said Krahmer. “That was understandable because we both like to joke around.” Once their wives were convinced that had won, Maki and Krahmer wisely contacted their financial planner and CPA before heading to the Lottery to claim their prize January 26.

The two friends split the $7.4 million prize from the January 23 drawing, and after taxes, each received a check for nearly $1.3 million. Krahmer bought their winning ticket at the Cedar Mill Liquor Store on Cornell Road in Portland.

To protect the health and safety of its employees and the public, the Oregon Lottery has temporarily closed the Salem and Wilsonville Lottery offices. Officials with the Lottery continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely. If players have a winning ticket, they can fill out a claim form on the Oregon Lottery website, https://oregonlottery.org/about/claim-prizes , and then mail in the signed ticket and claim form.

Players who have winning tickets of $50,000 or more, will need to make an appointment to come to the Oregon Lottery office in Salem. Call 503-540-1000 for assistance. As always, players should be certain to sign the back of their tickets.

Since 1985, Oregon Lottery players have won more than $38 billion in prizes.

Lottery officials recommend that you always sign the back of your tickets with each Oregon Lottery game you play, to ensure you can claim any prize you may win. In the event of winning a jackpot, players should consult with a trusted financial planner or similar professional to develop a plan for their winnings.

Since the Oregon Lottery began selling tickets on April 25, 1985, it has earned more than $12 billion for economic development, public education, Outdoor School, state parks, Veteran Services and watershed enhancements. For more information on the Oregon Lottery visit www.oregonlottery.org