Southeast student wins lottery

Southeast Missouri State University student Joshua Bowlin now has 20,000 reasons to be a St. Louis Blues fan.

He purchased three "St. Louis Blues" Scratchers tickets Oct. 19 at U-Gas, 14807 Manchester Road in Ballwin, Mo., because they corresponded with his lucky number -- 20 -- and it netted him $20,000.

Bowlin completed two years at St. Louis Community College's Meramec campus on an A+ Scholarship before going on to Southeast Missouri State, a Missouri Lottery news release said.

Lottery proceeds help fund the A+ Scholarship program, which pays for two years of education at state schools for students who complete a service program in high school, the release said.

When he bought the ticket, he brought it home.

"I scratched it and I ... screamed," Bowlin said in an interview Thursday. His father, Frank, came downstairs wondering what was going on. He didn't believe the ticket was real, so they went back to the gas station to make sure.

Bowlin claimed the prize when he returned to St. Louis for the Monday night Rams game and left the lottery ticket at his parents' house, because he didn't want to take a chance on losing it, the release said.

He said the funds will help pay off his student loans.

"I was pretty excited," he said of realizing he'd won the money. "Then I started to realize it was put in my life for a reason because I'm really broke and I needed it."

He was working at Texas Roadhouse, but just quit. "I might get another job next semester, just for spending money for alcohol, but I'm really just trying to focus on school now that I have it paid for," Bowlin said.