Generally, good things happen on your birthday and for those who wait. Such was the story with Dawn Collins who knew she had a $35,000 winning 35th Anniversary Scratch ticket but had to wait over three weeks to visit Boise and claim her prize.

“We went to Piggies to get a newspaper, coffee, and scratch tickets one morning before my birthday,” said Dawn about buying her winning ticket. “I got the ticket, played it, and when I saw what looked like it had won $35,000, I just didn’t believe it. This can’t be!”

Dawn had her husband double-triple check the ticket. “I wanted to make sure that what I was seeing was real!” she exclaimed.

It was real. And then came the wait. Dawn’s driver’s license expired on her birthday, right around the time she bought the ticket. Needing a valid driver’s license to claim her prize, Dawn had to wait three weeks to renew the license with the Department of Motor Vehicles and have it mailed to her. Once that was taken care of, she made her way to Boise in mid-September to claim her prize.

While convinced her win was real for over three weeks, she still admitted to being nervous when she claimed her prize. “I usually only win $20, so this is a lot bigger! My palms are all sweaty and my hands are shaking!”

“We’re going to solve our car issues with the winnings,” she said when she received her winning check.”

Dawn’s winning ticket was sold at Piggie’s Deli Food Mart on Sherman in Coeur d’Alene.

With Dawn’s win, all the top prizes for all the Idaho Lottery’s 35th Anniversary games have been claimed.