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Utah Winners Claim Big Lottery Prizes of $250,000 and $390,200

BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô Two Idaho Lottery players from Utah have claimed six-figure prizes in the last two days. Tyson Riley, from the Salt Lake Valley, won $250,000 on a Scratch GameTM from a ticket he purchased in Franklin, Idaho, and Tracy Montgomery from the Ogden Valley won $390,200 on the Lucky for Life game on a ticket she purchased in Malad, Idaho.

Tyson Riley happened to be in the right place at exactly the right time on Wednesday morning. After traveling from Salt Lake City to Logan for a work meeting, he decided to make a quick detour to the town of Franklin, Idaho to pick up some Scratch tickets and Powerball tickets before heading home. His detour, however, turned into a day long journey that had him traveling to Boise before making the return drive back to Utah.

During his stop at Best Stop, the Tesoro in Franklin, Idaho he purchased and played a Super Jumbo Bucks Scratch Game and after seeing that his last number matched a winning number, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"I saw it matched, so I scratched the prize amount. I'd already bought about $100 worth of tickets and I saw $250 on the prize, so I thought I was up $150," explained Riley on his winning experience. "Then I saw the comma, and the three zeroes after the $250. It was $250,000. I didn't think it was right. It happens, but it doesn't ever happen to you, right? I handed it to the clerk who scanned it and told me to sign it and that I need to go to Boise to claim it."

Riley ventured north into Idaho and five hours later found his way to the Idaho Lottery's offices in Boise to claim his prize.

"I still don't believe it's real, that I'm here," added Riley.

Riley said he and his wife planned to pay off debt and invest the remainder into a new home they are purchasing with the winnings.

For Ogden resident Tracy Montgomery, she waited until the Powerball jackpot hoopla settled down before contacting the Idaho Lottery about being the Lucky for Life winner. Montgomery's ticket matched the first five numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, for the Thursday, January 7, 2016 draw. This prize allows her to receive $25,000 a year for the rest of her life, with a 20-year minimum, or select a one-time cash payout option of $390,000.

"I was checking all of my Powerball tickets for the big draw and I didn't match any of the numbers to any of my tickets," said Montgomery on how she discovered her winning Lucky for Life ticket. "I play the same numbers every time, so when I checked my Lucky for Life ticket I recognized the numbers right away and almost everyone matched. I couldn't believe it!"

She said she started playing the same numbers last spring after some advice she received while visiting Malad. "If you're lost in the woods, stay where you're at and don't wander off. If you play numbers you remember, and that have meaning to you, don't change them," added Montgomery. "If you're in the woods, the moment you wander off you'll get even more lost and the moment you change your lottery numbers, they'll hit."

True to her word, a week after winning the second tier prize on Lucky for Life, four of her numbers came up again and she won another $200.

Her winning ticket was purchased from KC Oil in Malad, her favorite store. "The ladies at KC Oil are amazing, they're never going to believe that I'm the one who won the $25,000 for life!" she said.

Montgomery elected to take the one-time cash payout option of $390,200 for her winnings, because in her words, "You never know what's going to happen tomorrow."

Montgomery plans to invest her winnings into her business and help her family.

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ABOUT THE IDAHO LOTTERY
The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch GamesTM, 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 $2.95 billion in products, awarded over $1.77 billion in prizes to players, returned more than $172.6 million in retail commissions, and distributed $694.5 million in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and the Permanent Building Fund. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.

CONTACT: David Workman
(208) 334-2600