BOISE -- A truck driver from northern Idaho is $250,000 richer after finally checking his Mega Millions lottery ticket.
Idaho Lottery officials say Allen York of Rathdrum had been carrying the winning ticket around for the past three weeks. He finally stopped by his local store, Korner Stop, to check the winning numbers.
“I had just been carrying my tickets around in my wallet,” confessed York. “So, they checked it, told me I was the big winner, and then I left and went straight back to work. I thought they were joking with me!”
After the store made him sign the ticket, York left it in Rathdrum with his wife Teresa who kept it in a night stand. Allen claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters in Boise Tuesday.
For their part in selling the winning ticket, Korner Stop in Rathdrum received a $20,000 bonus from the Idaho Lottery.
The Yorks plan to pay off some bills and Allen is going to buy a new trailer for his business with his winnings. The couple immediately left for a vacation in the Pacific Northwest after picking up their winning check.
York is the first Idaho Lottery player to claim $250,000 on Mega Millions since the game debuted in January. One Mega Millions ticket worth $250,000 sold in Coeur d’Alene in April remains unclaimed.
