(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -Jim Simmons has been playing the lottery for many years and has stacks to prove it. When Jim went into the Flying J on Geiger Boulevard to get lottery tickets for Friday and Saturday's drawing the odd's were against him.
"I bought our match four for tonight and I was going to go ahead and pick up our mega millions and powerball that we buy and they said we can't sell them," said Jim.
The reason? The state is facing a shutdown over a budget deal and if it happens, the drawings for certain games would fall in the shutdown period. Because the lottery is a government agency, they couldn't pick a winner. The budget mostly deals with finding a way to fund k through 12 education.
The good news is lawmakers say they have reached a tentative agreement and those who have seen the bill are confident it will pass.
Jim says this is just Olympia playing politics and he know's from experience.
"It's typical. I worked for the federal government for 20 years I went through what three budgets that they didn't pass federally."
Jim is not angry that he cant keep his streak going, he's looking on the brighter side.
"It would probably just save me three bucks."
These are the tickets that are included:
- scratch games
- jackpot games
- powerball
- mega millions.