Rigby man wins $80K for birthday

A Rigby man celebrated his birthday early with an $80,000 Scratch Game win from the Idaho Lottery.

Kahn McAllister, and his wife Karleen, of Rigby, were visiting his family in Ririe for an early birthday dinner celebration when the couple stopped in the Gateway Service store, the lottery said Tuesday.

Kahn reinvested some of his previous winnings from Scratch tickets and bought a series of Even More Crazier 8s from the Idaho Lottery at the store.

“The first few tickets didn’t win at all. Then, the next one came along and I thought at first I’d won $8,” he said. “Then it was $80, then $800, nope, it was the $80,000 prize. I got lucky! … I couldn’t breathe and I kept jumping around all excited. I couldn’t believe it! And my birthday is in a few days!”

The McAllisters plan to take their young daughter to Disneyland to meet princesses then invest the remainder of the winnings.

For its part in selling the winning ticket, Gateway Service in Ririe will get a bonus from the Idaho Lottery of $8,000.