SIKESTON MAN WINS $100,000 SUPERCASH PRIZE

Gene Hill of Sikeston was speechless when he found out he had won $100,000 Friday by matching all five Missouri Lottery SuperCash numbers.

The 70-year-old Hill said he and his wife, Maxine, watched the drawing on television Friday night.

"When I play the lottery I usually win a free ticket, so my wife asked me if I had won another ticket," recalled Hill. "I could hardly talk. I couldn't tell her anything for about a minute. I finally said, `We won a little more than a free ticket.'"

Hill let the computer pick the winning numbers of 8-16-20-29-35 on a ticket he purchased at Penny Pincher convenience store in Sikeston.

Hill said he and his wife plan to use the money to pay off their house and other bills. "It's going to make retirement a lot easier," he said.

The big lottery winner last weekend was Roger Poliette, 51, a Hillsboro painting contractor. He won the $36.8 million Powerball jackpot Saturday night, becoming the largest prize winner in Missouri history.

Poliette bought his winning ticket at Britton's Quick Shop in Hillsboro, where he stopped to buy fresh bologna for lunch Saturday. He let the computer pick his lucky numbers: 21-22-36-43-45 and Powerball number 26.

Poliette and his wife, Shirley, have nine children, ranging from 17 to 35.

Poliette said he plans to use his winnings to take care of his family and assist with funding college educations. The Poliettes will receive approximately $1.8 million a year before taxes for the next 20 years.

Poliette is the 80th jackpot winner since the lottery began in 1986.