Robert Bevan has done something most lottery players only daydream about: the Boise man has won the Idaho Lottery 18 times. His first prize came in 1997, when he took home a four-door Chevy Blazer in the lottery's Blazer Bucks promotion, and he has been coming back ever since.

Bevan most recently collected a $50,000 win on the King Scratch Game, adding another check to a run that has included prizes of up to $200,000, several $20,000 wins, and checks for $5,000 and $1,000. He told the Idaho Lottery that he does not spend much time thinking about the mathematics behind his luck, describing the games as a hobby he shares with his wife.

That hobby has turned into a three-decade routine. Bevan has spent three decades visiting the Idaho Lottery winner's room, and the list of games he has played reads like a tour through the state's scratch-off offerings, including King Scratch Game, Cash Explosion and Winter Wonders. The King Scratch Game sells around 515,000 tickets each time and carries a top prize of $1 million, which makes repeated wins in that game especially hard to explain.

For Bevan, the explanation is simpler than odds and probability. He and his wife buy lottery tickets as part of their everyday routine while out shopping for groceries or gas, and this year they are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. After the latest win, he put the focus on that milestone instead of the money, saying, "My real luck is 40 years with the same amazing woman."

The streak is unusual enough to stand out even in a business built on long odds, and Bevan's latest prize only sharpens the contrast between the size of the jackpot and the ordinary way he says he ends up buying tickets. His next stop will be the same one that has become familiar over the years: another visit to collect, sign, and cash in before heading back to the errands that started the trip.