Victory can now be summed up in one word: "Dude."

As in: Dude, can you believe this?

Such was the sentiment of Prineville resident Joe Martin, whose amusing story of winning a $30,000 scratch-it ticket was shared this month by the Oregon Lottery public-relations folks.

The yarn began with a mini-mart stop for sodas and a chance purchase of a scratch-it ticket with left-over money.

Martin and his new girlfriend, Dani, couldn't decide which game to play. He told her to pick; she told him to choose. So he did.

Then the couple left and went for a hike in Central Oregon's mountains. Martin eventually decided to scratch off the card, a $3 Pirate's Gold, while his girlfriend was taking a picture of a butterfly.

"When I saw the 3, I thought I had won my money back, then I saw a bunch of zeroes," he told the Oregon Lottery. "When I saw the comma I said 'NO WAY!' We both looked at it and knew it was a winner."

In fact, Martin had picked one of only three Pirate's Gold cards with the top $30,000 prize. Martin told the Oregon Lottery he has a glass-art business and plans to use the money to move into a nicer space.

The win left Martin nearly speechless.

"I kept trying to tell my friends, but I could get any words out," he told the Oregon Lottery. "It was a euphoric feeling."

One word, however, came easily. To quote the Oregon Lottery's press release:

"Martin said for the rest of the day all he could say was 'Dude' and giggle uncontrollably."

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt