BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô In two days, two southeastern Idaho residents have claimed top prizes of $322,124 and $200,000 respectively on Idaho Lottery games. Within the last twenty-four hours, the Idaho Lottery has processed claims for James Lester of Preston, who won the largest jackpot prize in the history on Ultimate Diamond, and the first top prize on the Scratch Game 20X for Pocatello resident, Randel Hagler.

Last evening, Lester stopped at Ransom's Country Store in Preston and purchased an Ultimate Diamond Jackpot ticket. On his ticket, he matched the number 10 to the prize jackpot, meaning he had won $322,124.

"I just about fell over. I was sitting in my truck and I couldn't believe it. I drove home to show it to my wife," explained Lester, a resident of Preston for thirty years.

"I got home and looked at him and said, 'What have you done now?' That's when he said 'I think we won the Lottery.' And I said 'na-uh,'" explained Royann Lester, his wife. "We got back in the car, took the ticket back to the store and had them check it to be sure. He won. I didn't think tickets like this existed. But I do now!"

The Lesters left for Boise to claim their prize first thing on Thursday morning. When handed both his souvenir and real winning checks, Lester exclaimed, "Just wow! I don't believe it. It hasn't sunk in yet."

Lester, who owns a welding shop in Preston, said he plans to pay off his debts and save the remainder of his winnings. Lester is the largest winner on the game Ultimate Diamond Jackpot and the largest winner from the town of Preston.

Meanwhile, late on Wednesday afternoon, Pocatello resident Randel Hagler claimed a $200,000 winning check from the Scratch Game 20X he purchased at the KJ's on Pocatello Creek Road in Pocatello. A regular player, Hagler said he never thought he would ever win a prize this large and that his wife couldn't believe it either.

The couple plan to use their winnings to purchase a new house.

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The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch Games^TM, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund. Since their inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold over $3.1 billion in products, awarded over $1.9 billion in prizes to players, returned $186.5 million in retail commissions, and distributed $744 million in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and the Permanent Building Fund. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.