Walker man wins third top prize in 'Lifetime Riches'

Nevada Daily Mail

A salesman from Walker became the third person to uncover a top prize --$50,000 a year for life -- in the Missouri Lottery's Scratchers game, "Lifetime Riches." Gary Clark, 31, said he and his wife, Shawna, plan to use their prize money to pay bills and pay off their vehicles.

"We'll put some money together for school (college)," said Clark, who is the father of a 7-year-old girl. "I don't have retirement at work, but I do now."

Clark is a salesman for Dirt Works Race Cars, his family's business, located in Walker. Shawna Clark also works at the family business, which builds race cars.

Clark said he bought his winning "Lifetime Riches" ticket on Aug. 8, when he stopped in Tim's Convenience Store in Nevada, for some juice before work. He was going to buy five tickets from "Lifetime Riches" and five from "$100 Million Cash Spectacular."

Since there were only four "Lifetime Riches" tickets left in the pack, the clerk had to open a new pack, and Clark decided to buy all 10 "Lifetime Riches" tickets.

Lucky for him, the winning ticket was the sixth ticket in the string.

"You know how other people say they scream and jump around (when they find out they won)," said Clark. "I couldn't breathe." Clark also noted that he isn't the first person from Walker -- or the first person living in his house -- to win a Missouri Lottery prize worth more than $1 million. Judy Lasley and the late Nelson Lasley of Walker won $6.5 million playing Missouri Lotto on Feb. 17, 2003, when they resided in the Clark's home.

"Our neighbor talked to Judy the other day and told her about our win, and she said, 'I guess I left my mark on the house,'" said Clark.

The new "Lifetime Riches" game, which officially started April 22, has the highest payout in the Lottery's history and offers more than $100 million in cash prizes, including 10 top prizes of $50,000 a year for life. More than 75.62 percent of the $10 game's sales will be returned to players as prizes.

To date, a total of 218 Missouri Lottery tickets worth $1 million or more have been sold in the Lottery's 20 years of sales. Of those winning tickets, 13 were from Scratchers games, one which was from the "Lifetime Riches" game. There are still seven top prizes of $50,000 a year for life left in the game.