BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô On a rainy morning in Boise, James Johnson was driving to the bank when he passed the Jacksons on Overland and Maple Grove. He turned around and returned to the store to purchase two Idaho Lottery, Big Money Scratch tickets.

"I just had a weird feeling," explained Johnson on his sudden decision to turn around and visit the store. "I just happened to be in the right place at exactly the right time. I really don't believe it."

Johnson's second ticket turned out to be a $175,000 winning top prize on the game. A couple of hours later, and after a return trip to the store to verify it was truly a big winner, Johnson collected his prize winnings from Lottery offices.

"I've played the Lottery since it began," said Johnson. "How lucky can one guy be? This is once in a lifetime!"

Upon leaving the Lottery offices, Johnson returned to his original morning task. He was heading back to the bank, this time to deposit his winning check.

# # #

ABOUT THE IDAHO LOTTERY
The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch Games^TM, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund. Since their inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold over $3.1 billion in products, awarded over $1.9 billion in prizes to players, returned $186.5 million in retail commissions, and distributed $744 million in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and the Permanent Building Fund. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.