BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô Call it good old fashioned beginners luck. Last week's $200,000 Powerball "Match 5" winner from Boise had never purchased a Lottery ticket in Idaho before making a last minute decision to play a $5 quick pick on last Wednesday night's $177.6 million Powerball jackpot. For Susan Alexander of Boise, her spur of the moment decision was the first Idaho Lottery ticket she bought since moving to the Gem State five years ago to be closer to her family. And talk about lucky, she won $200,000!

"I was in the store and it was about 10 minutes before they cut off sales," described an excited Alexander of her last-minute visit to the Fred Meyer store on the corner of Overland and Five Mile in southwest Boise. "I figured I'm not gonna win big, but thought what the heck. I had five bucks on me so I hurried to hand it to the customer service clerk. I barely made it!"

The next day after work when she checked the numbers, Alexander realized right away that she'd matched four numbers. She called the store to ask what she'd won and they told her $100. Then she noticed that she had matched a fifth number, the number 52.

"That's when I started to get a little emotional," added Alexander. "It's taken me several days to get used to the idea that it really was me who won."

For their part in selling the winning ticket, Fred Meyer will receive a bonus of $20,000 from the Idaho Lottery. Fred Meyer in turn is donating their entire bonus to the Boise School District.

"This comes at a great time for us, especially with the reduction in our funding next fiscal year," said Dan Hollar, Public Affairs Administrator for the Boise School District. "We will be distributing the monies to all 32 of our elementary schools for school supplies."

This particular Fred Meyer location also now has the distinction of having sold two, $200,000 winning Powerball tickets. Four years ago on March 17, 2006, Sandy Libecki of Boise won $200,000 on a Powerball ticket she purchased on the spur of the moment from the customer service counter at the same store.

Alexander is carefully weighing her options with her winnings and plans to meet with a financial advisor and tax consultant.

The second winning $200,000 Powerball ticket from last Wednesday night was won by Jelena Pasalic of Salt Lake City, Utah. Pasalic was playing for only her second time with some friends when she won $200,000 on a ticket bought at Top Stop Chevron in Malad City along the Idaho ÔÇô Utah border.

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