The Region - News from March 14, 1986

Robert Smiley, a 28-year-old Tustin bachelor who drives a car nearly as old as he is, earns about $20,000 a year working two jobs and buys two lottery tickets a day, became the state’s first $100,000 instant lottery winner.Smiley said he celebrated into the evening with two friends in Laguna Beach, but returned to the room he rents at another friend’s Tustin condominium, where he locked the winning ticket inside a metal strong box. In the morning he delivered his ticket to the regional lottery office in Anaheim. His $100,000 instant winnings are an increased prize offered in the Grand Game, the state’s fifth lottery game. The game does not officially start until the weekend, but some outlets have already started selling tickets. “I still haven’t slept,” Smiley said. “Hopefully, one day I will be able to.”