A Navy reservist who returned to the Tri-Valley from Afghanistan last month has even more reason to celebrate this holiday season after winning $195,000 of the California Lottery's Fantasy 5 prize this week.

Alfredo Jauregui kept up with a weekly tradition of buying lotto tickets on Monday. It was not his lucky day. On Tuesday, he bought five more tickets at San Ramon's Fast & Easy Mart (2820 Crow Canyon Road), then he hit the bowling alley, California Lottery officials said.

At the bowling alley, Jauregui saw on television that someone from San Ramon had won the top Fantasy 5 lotto prize.

He immediately called his wife, who said she had a good feeling that he had the winning ticket.

"I bowled the worst three games of my life because I was anxious -- I just wanted to check those tickets," he said.

Once Jauregui returned home and checked his tickets, he realized he had won half of the $391,894 top prize, or $195,947, according to lottery officials.

The Navy reservist wasted no time in picking up his prize, which he said he plans to use to pay off debt, buy a new car, help out family members and save for his and his wife's future family.

A player wins the Fantasy 5 jackpot by matching five numbers out of 39, and winning numbers are drawn daily. The top prize is $50,000 and increases each day until someone hits the jackpot. Tickets may be purchased for $1 from 21,000 retailers statewide.

— Bay City News Service

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