Gardnerville man wins $10,000

When Dan Esau first heard he had just won $10,000 in a sweepstakes contest, he figured the news was too good to be true.

So it was only understandable on Monday afternoon when the Gardnerville man flashed a wide smile as he received a check at Scolari's Food & Drug Company for winning Oroweat bread's "Winning Perfected" sweepstakes grand prize.

His first response?

"I gotta go to the bank ... see you guys," Esau said with a laugh during a brief presentation at Scolari's.

Just kidding, of course. Esau was obviously excited about the check, which as an added bonus, was presented by U.S. Olympic alpine ski racer Daron Rahlves.

"This is incredible," said Esau, a real estate agent for Verus Realty who has lived in the Carson Valley for 11 years. "I've never won anything. I didn't believe it until I got the official paperwork in the mail."

It was no practical joke at all. Esau was simply fortunate enough to win a contest he had entered online from a code he got from a loaf of bread he got at Scolari's as part of Oroweat's promotion for the Winter Olympic Games held in Turin, Italy.

Oroweat, an official supporter for the U.S. Olympic program, also presented a $10,000 check on behalf of Scolari's to the U.S. Paralympics program. The check was accepted by Candace Cable - like Rahlves, a resident of Truckee - a nine-time gold medal winner in winter and summer Paralympic competition.

Cable, who will celebrate her 52nd birthday on Saturday, has compiled quite a resume since she sustained a broken back in an automobile accident on Kingsbury Grade in 1975 - 14 medals in Paralympic competition, six Boston Marathon women's wheelchair division victories, and participation in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.

Rahlves, who announced his retirement from alpine ski racing after the Turino Olympics, won 12 World Cup races and one world championship during his 13-year career with the U.S. Ski Team.

And Esau is happy the call about that check was no practical joke. After all, he has a motor home and two dogs to look after.

"This couldn't have come at a better time," he said. "I plan to do some traveling and this will buy a lot of fuel for the motor home."