EAGLE, Idaho – When you take a chance, play the odds, you expose yourself to the reality that you just might not win. But you and I play games of chance because something deep down says, "This one's yours. The odds are in your favor."
Tamera Hunt from Eagle knows what I'm talking about.
"This last year, I kind of had a funny feeling," said Hunt.
Hunt had a feeling that her early-bird ticket for the 2011 St. Jude Dream Home would be the winner, the 1 in 7,777.
The night of the drawing she was in Las Vegas to celebrate her youngest daughter's 21st birthday.
"We had just walked in [to the casino],” said Hunt. “We hadn't even gone over to a slot machine or a table or anything.”
She had no idea what just happened live on KTVB.
"Tamera Hunt, from Eagle, Idaho has just won the St. Jude Dream Home," said KTVB's Mark Johnson on June 26, 2012.
She got a phone call shortly after from a relative in Twin Falls.
"My niece says, 'Aunt Tammy, you won that house,' and I said, 'What house? What are you talking about?' and she goes, 'The dream house.' And I said, 'You're kidding.' She said, 'No, you've won the St. Jude Dream House,'" said Hunt.
Her odds in Vegas no longer mattered, because she just won the ultimate jackpot.
"I was just shocked, goose bumps everywhere, I was just totally shocked," said Hunt.
Hunt now had a dilemma on her hands.
"We kind of had two dream houses there for awhile," said Hunt. "We had to make a decision, are we going to keep the other one?"
She ended up selling the home she won, putting some of the money into her current home. She also helped her two oldest daughters get homes of their own. She also set aside money to take her youngest daughter to Europe after she graduates from Boise State University next summer.
But the reason she's emotional now isn't because she won against the odds. It's because years ago the odds were not in her favor.
"I had a sister that died of cancer when she was six," said Hunt.
That's the reason Hunt plays the odds, every year, and buys a ticket.
"I was only five and she was six, but we were good friends, and it just devastated our family," said Hunt. "It was very hard on our family, that's why I always kind of had cancer research as something I want to support.”
But the thing with this game of chance, if you play, you never really lose. Because you're helping kids who's odds aren't as good as yours.
"Buying a ticket, people need to buy a ticket,” said Hunt. “It's a great cause, and they might be the winner.”
Hunt says she bought another ticket this year. Her husband bought one too. She hopes the odds are in her husband's favor this year.
If you want to win this year's dream home, you need to buy a ticket. At just $100 you can win the beautiful home in the Eagle Lakemoor subdivision. The drawing is June 24th live Channel 7.
