Son watches father win huge lottery prize at Idaho mall

Dad spends $5 on a scratch-off game in Idaho and then wins a much bigger prize.

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A man took his son to an Idaho mall and gave him the ‘surprise of a lifetime’.

Dan Hihath won the chance to play The Big Spin via a $5 scratch-off game, the Idaho Lottery announced in a July 29 press release.

He took his son to Boise Towne Square, where he could spin a giant wheel for a chance to win $150,000, lottery officials said.

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“I didn’t tell him I won the Spin before the event. It was a complete surprise,” Hihath told lottery officials.

The boy was astonished when Hihath walked past the game and asked out of the blue if he could play.

He saw his father spin the big wheel and win $70,000, officials said.

Now his father plans to use the prize money to pay for a trip for his son, who is a junior footballer. The boy was chosen to spend a week at a Real Madrid training academy in Spain, his father said.

Another Idaho resident, Michael Hankins, also got to spin the wheel and won $60,000.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. For some, however, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering Washington state and the Western region. She holds a degree in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She lives in Phoenix.