Veteran wins Idaho lottery, shares with Wounded Warriors

Army veteran Steve Colson has collected $3.43 million — the first Hot Lotto jackpot winner in Idaho Lottery history — and plans to share some of his winnings with fellow vets.

Idaho Lottery winner Steve Colson (Courtesy Idaho Lottery)

Colson told lottery officials he checked his tickets for winning numbers early Thursday. Seeing a ticket matched all five of the numbers and the Hot Ball, he woke his household with a scream.

“I must have checked them twenty times and still couldn’t believe it,” said Colson,  who the lottery said is 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.

The sixth generation Idahoan plans to take a one-time cash lump sum prize of $2,675,029.86, the lottery reported.

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.

“I’m going to take care of my family and my friends, then save the rest,” said Colson.

He bought the winning ticket at a Nampa food store where he is a regular customer.