Staff report

&uot;I have got to be dreaming!&uot;

Sherbie Tucker of Smithfield says that was his reaction as he looked at the Virginia Lottery scratch ticket in his hand and saw that it was worth $150,000. The fact that he had just won top prize in the Friday Night Poker scratch game took a while to sink in.

Tucker purchased the ticket at Tom & Jerry’s Quick Stop, located at 603 West Main Street in Smithfield. He says when he realized the ticket might be a winner, he quietly left the store and drove away so he could examine the ticket more closely &uot;…to make sure I wasn’t seeing a ghost.&uot;

Tucker says he and his wife have been living in a mobile trailer ever since their home was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in September.

&uot;I want to try to rebuild where the house was,&uot; he says.

Friday Night Poker is one of more than fifty scratch games currently offered by the Virginia Lottery. Since Tucker is the second $150,000 winner, there are still two top prize tickets out there, waiting to be scratched.