LEWISTON – She sold 13 cars the week before, she felt lucky. So Sherri Poulin bought a $20 lottery ticket with her morning cup of coffee at Stephen’s Pizza and walked back to work at Auto Max on Sabattus Street.

She scratched and won $250,000. She screamed, a lot. Then, she bought the dealership.

Poulin said Thursday that it’s been a “totally life-changing” week.

She bought and swiftly scratched the $20 Extravaganza ticket on Aug. 27.

“I called mom and dad, and they thought I was getting attacked because I was screaming so much,” Poulin said. “I said, ‘Get down here, I’ve got to get down to Augusta right now!'”

She phoned her husband, P.J., and left a message for him to quit his longtime construction job. He showed a little restraint.

“I stayed working until noontime when she had the check in her hand,” he said.

The Lewiston couple had talked about buying the Auto Max dealership from Shawn Dube for a year but hadn’t been able to get a loan. Five days after buying the ticket, the dealership was officially theirs. Dube is staying on for three months to smooth the transition.

She worked for Rowe Mitsubishi in Auburn for six years before being lured away a year ago.

“I love it, it’s in my blood. I love the car business,” Sherri said.

P.J. joked that he’ll be washing cars, making sure they run smooth and keeping out of her way. “She’s the experienced one, and I’m the rookie,” he said.

After a limited splurge at Wal-Mart, the couple, who’ve been married seven years, banked the rest of the winnings. They’ve already got plans for some of it come Christmastime: They’ll decorate one of the trucks, put $3,000 worth of gifts in the back and drive down to Kennedy Park dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus.

P.J. said the idea was the first thing out of his wife’s mouth after the windfall.

Growing up, “she was one of those kids at Kennedy Park who didn’t have toys on Christmas morning,” he said.

They’ve got nine elves lined up to help. She hopes to entice more people to get involved.

Sherri lost her grandmother a month ago. She thinks, in a way, that’s related to her luck: “We feel like memre gave this to us. She said, ‘God, give them some money.'”