A Tamaqua man has been given an early birthday present courtesy of the Pennsylvania Lottery.

On Thursday night, Ed Smith, who'll turn 58 on May 29, happened to buy a $30 rub-off ticket called Triple Million, dispensed by a vending machine at Speedway in Tamaqua, the former Hess Express, South Center Street.To Smith's surprise, he rubbed off the numbers and found he'd matched a winning number, 34, to claim a $300,000 jackpot in the instant game."I'm going to Harrisburg right now," said Smith early Friday.There, he'll have the ticket verified by lottery officials.Smith was accompanied on the trip by his ex-wife Diane. The two are best friends and share a special bond.Employees at the local convenience store are delighted a local man came up big.Manager Johnna McHugh said store workers are excited to know a familiar face hit the jackpot."We're happy it's somebody who's a regular customer. He comes in here quite a bit," said McHugh."He buys things like coffee, kerosene and lottery tickets."One employee, Ann Houseman, shares the same birthday with Smith, something the two joke about.Smith said he doesn't play the lottery often, simply "here and there."He said he has no special plans for the windfall.According to the Pennsylvania Lottery website, the winnings are federally taxable and the lottery will withhold 25 percent of the total.The store has been selling lottery tickets for the past two years, said McHugh.In that time, they've had countless winners in various games, both rub-offs and regular "pick-your-number" tickets, including four who've won up to $10,000 in the past year.Another 120 have won between $100 and $1,000 in the past year.Smith's lucky pick, however, is by far the largest jackpot at the store, McHugh said.The store also will receive a percentage of the total winnings for selling the lucky ticket.