Gate City trucker claims lottery win

A Pocatello man has claimed a $100,000 prize in the Idaho Lottery’s scratch game “Cash Renovation.”

The Lottery said Christopher Martin, a long-haul truck driver, purchased the ticket at the Common Cents store on Arthur in Pocatello. Although he plays regularly, it was the first time he bought a “Cash Renovation” ticket.

“I had $110 in winning tickets, so, I pocketed the $100 and played the remaining $10 on a game I had never played,” explained Martin on his winning experience. “I was playing on house money.”

Martin usually only scratches the bar code and then checks to see if his ticket is a winner. This time, though, the sound of winning was different and the store clerk at Common Cents told him he needed to go to Boise to claim his prize.

“Oh my lord!” he exclaimed when he had the ticket scanned for payment at the Lottery Offices on Tuesday morning. “This could not have come at a better time.”

Martin already has plans for his winnings. He said his semi-truck needs several expensive repairs.

The Common Cents store will also receive a $10,000 bonus from the Idaho Lottery for selling the winning ticket.