BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô Not many individuals get a second chance at life but one Post Falls, Idaho, man is making the most out of his. In fact for the $250k Mega Millions winner from last Tuesday night┬┤s draw, it could even be the case that good luck came in threes. Last winter, he won a $2,000 drawing at North Idaho College. Two weeks ago, James Pond won concert tickets to Motley Crue and Poison. Today became lucky day number three for Pond when he claimed a Mega Millions ticket worth a quarter-of-a-million dollars.

"I read the story in the paper about the Lottery looking for a winner, then I read the numbers and checked my ticket," described an elated Pond about when he found out he was the winner. "I grabbed my wife, we got down on our knees and we prayed and thanked God for this!"

Luck really started to turn around for Pond 9 years ago. Today he owns his own business, Affordable Lawn Care and Snow Removal, in Post Falls. Nine years ago, though, his life was on the edge of disaster. The real wake-up call came when his wife divorced him.

"She was the catalyst. Through her faith, I knew I needed a power greater than myself," said Pond, who had a serious substance abuse problem at the time. "I asked the Lord to help me fix the things I couldn't. Finding faith helped me turn my life around."

The road to recovery for Pond has been a successful one. He has been clean for nine years and attends meetings regularly. Six years ago, the couple rekindled their romance and then eventually re-married.

Pond plans to pay down his mortgage to make it something much more affordable, set aside money for his son to attend college, buy a Harley for himself, a jet ski for his son, and take his wife on a nice vacation.

The big winning ticket was from a familiar store that could be one of the luckiest retail locations in Idaho, Ady's Convenience and Car Wash on Seltice Way in Post Falls, the very same store that sold Holly Lahti her Mega Millions, jackpot-winning $190 million ticket back in January.

"Everyone thinks these things come in threes," said Brad Wilde, Manager at Ady's. "This is twice now in the past eight months for us. A lot players think it will happen a third time."

For their part in selling the winning ticket, Ady's Convenience and Car Wash will receive a bonus from the Idaho Lottery for $20,000.

Pond is the seventh Idaho Mega Millions winner to win at least $250,000 in the past 12 months. "I'm clean today, I have a roof over my head and a family that loves me," said an emotional Pond at the press event in Boise. "I just want to tell everyone, don't be a quitter five minutes before the miracle happens. Have hope and faith."

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