EUSTIS – A Massachusetts State Lottery scratch ticket given by a friend to a Stratton village couple turned out to be a $250,000 winner.

Cheryl and Raymond Heikkinen said the friend, Kevin Weirs of Medfield, Mass., went out to dinner with them and said he wanted to give them the instant ticket as a gift.

The Heikkinens, both 46, later found that their ticket was one of 40 that won $250,000 each. They picked up their check early this month and already used some of the winnings to pay off their mortgage and truck loan. They also gave some of the money to family members and to Weirs.

Cheryl Heikkinen said their friend still feels good about having given them the ticket and has no regrets about not keeping that particular one for himself.