BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô There's a lot of talk about winning gold these days, but Robert Pavlat, Ammon, struck gold late last week when he bought, scratched, and won the top prize on the Idaho Lottery's Gold Rush game from Legends on 17th Street in Idaho Falls.

"My heart was pounding, I couldn't believe it," exclaimed Pavlat, an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration out of Idaho Falls. "I thought it was a dream."

At first, Pavlat thought he'd only won $100. When he took his ticket back to Legends to verify his winnings, the Lottery terminal prompted the clerk to inform him he had won more than $600 and that he needed to claim the ticket in Boise. Then he and the clerk kept scratching more prizes, slowly raising the winnings from $100 all the way up to $100,000.

Pavlat then called his wife and told her he'd had some car trouble and that she needed to come to the store and pick him up. Once she arrived, he confessed to the ruse and showed her the big winning Lottery ticket and explained what had happened.

Pavlat plans to pay off bills and invest the balance of his winnings. For their part in selling the big winning ticket, Legends will receive a bonus from the Idaho Lottery of $12,000.

Late yesterday, April Bassett of Soda Springs cashed in on a $25,000 Beach Blanket Slingo scratch ticket that was purchased from the Maverik in Soda Springs. After doing a "happy dance" in the store when she checked the winning ticket, Bassett ventured to Boise and claimed her prize at Idaho Lottery headquarters.

"Playing Lottery scratch games is a great way to pass the time during the winter," said Bassett, who plans to save all of her winnings.

For their part in selling the winning ticket, Maverik will receive a bonus from the Idaho Lottery of $3,000.

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