BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô Ask folks who know Roni Leuck and they'll tell you that luck follows her. Late last Friday night, luck found Leuck (pronounced Luke) in the form of a $250,000 cash payout on the new Idaho Lottery Scratch GameTM Silver and Gold.

"I was spending the night at a friend's cabin and around midnight started scratching the two tickets I'd bought earlier in the day," explained an excited Leuck. "I won $20 on the first ticket. Then I matched the number 30 on my second ticket. When I scratched the prize amount, I couldn't believe it, so I started yelling to my friend to come in and look. We both started screaming!"

Friends and family agree that Leuck is a lucky lady, whether it's playing the lottery or gambling in Nevada, wherever she plays, she comes out a winner.

"It's true. Luck happens!" said the enthusiastic local mortgage lender while referencing the Idaho Lottery's newest ad campaign and her own last name. "I've won a couple thousand dollars during visits to Nevada, but never anything like this! Wooooh-hooo!"

Leuck moved to Idaho in 1976 and considers herself a "born-again Idahoan." She's been a regular player of the Idaho Lottery and now will be able to erase some of her debt and move forward with her plans to visit Cancun, Mexico later this spring.

"Airfares to Cancun were getting pretty expensive. We were talking about canceling the trip," described Leuck. "But right after my friend and I realized I had the big winner, we looked at each other, high-fived and yelled, 'Airfare!' at the same time."

Leuck bought her winning ticket from an Idaho Lottery vending machine at the Fred Meyer Store located on Fairview and Locust Grove in Meridian. For their part in selling the winning ticket, Fred Meyer will receive a bonus of $20,000.

# # #