BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô Steve Colson's morning started out with a blood-curdling scream of excitement about 6:30 a.m. today when he checked his Idaho Lottery tickets for winning numbers. His Hot Lotto ticket from last night, Wednesday, June 27, 2012, matched all five of the numbers and the Hot Ball.

"I only get that excited over a whole lot of money! I woke everybody up!" explained Colson, a retired U.S. Army veteran with 22 years of service, a tour of duty during the first Gulf War and a Purple Heart recipient. "I must have checked them twenty times and still couldn't believe it. There's absolutely no way all the numbers were the same. No way!"

Colson was the sole winner of a $3.43 million Hot Lotto jackpot from Wednesday night. This is the first Hot Lotto jackpot winner in Idaho Lottery history.

The sixth generation Idahoan plans to take a one-time cash lump sum prize of $2,675,029.86. With the winnings, he plans to take his father and family on the fishing trip of a lifetime to Alaska, benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, and then build his dream motorcycle and dedicate it to the fallen soldiers in Iraq.ÔÇï

ÔÇï"I'm going to take care of my family and my friends, then save the rest," said Colson.

ÔÇïThe winning Hot Lotto jackpot ticket was sold at the Jacksons Food Store located on the corner of Caldwell Boulevard and Midland Avenue in Nampa, where Colson is a regular customer. For their part in selling the big jackpot-winning ticket, Jacksons will receive a $20,000 bonus from the Idaho Lottery.

In addition to Colson's win, Idaho also had a jackpot winner on the in-state game Weekly Grand. Melissa Volkers of Nampa claimed her jackpot prize of $1,000 a week every week for a year this morning at Idaho Lottery Headquarters in Boise.ÔÇï

ÔÇï"I checked the numbers like 100,000 times before bringing it in," said an excited Volkers. "I just don't believe it's real."

ÔÇïIn Weekly Grand, players who match all five numbers correctly win the game's jackpot ÔÇô $1,000 each week for an entire year, with taxes being paid by the Idaho Lottery. The total prize amount is actually $77,380, which after taxes is exactly $52,000.

ÔÇïVolkers plans to use her winnings to visit her son in Alaska, get a new truck for her husband and buy herself a hot tub.

ÔÇïThe Weekly Grand jackpot winning ticket was sold at the Stinker Store located at 5024 Cleveland Boulevard in Caldwell. For their part in selling the Weekly Grand jackpot winning ticket, Stinker Stores will receive a $7,738 bonus from the Idaho Lottery.

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