JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Always considered lucky when it comes to winning sweepstakes, 69-year-old Robert O'Neill was still surprised that the luck of the Irish was with him Sunday night when he learned that he was the winner of the 2007 HGTV Dream Home located in the Bridger's Cache Community of Winter Park, Colorado. O'Neill, who recently retired as Postmaster in Brandon, Florida, moved to upper East Tennessee to be closer to friends and family. He and his wife of six months were having dinner out with his son's family and friends when HGTV's Joan Steffend came out of the kitchen at a local restaurant bearing the news along with dessert. His surprise at receiving the news was broadcast around the country as part of HGTV Dream Home Giveaway 2007, a live television special that aired on Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

HGTV Dream Home Giveaway 2007 Winner: Robert O'Neill, Sr. of Johnson City, TN with host Joan Steffend. (PRNewsFoto/Home & Garden Television) JOHNSON CITY, TENN. UNITED STATES 03/19/2007

"I can't believe this," said O'Neill, "We've been looking for a house since January 31st and couldn't find anything. Perhaps this is the reason why!"

O'Neill, whose name was drawn from more than 41 million entries, took home the grand-prize package with a retail value of $2.5 million. In addition to the fully furnished, custom-built Rocky Mountain home that features more than 3,000 square feet of flooring from Lumber Liquidators, the grand prize package includes a matching Doggy Dream Home, an all-new 2007 GMC Acadia and a $250,000 cash prize from LendingTree.com.

O'Neill's wife Lorie, his son and daughter-in-law Bob, Jr. and Jill and his granddaughters Courtney and Ashley rushed to hug him and help him celebrate his new fortune. "He is so lucky," said an excited Lorie as she kissed him. "I can't believe we really won!"

Meanwhile, back in the HGTV studios, host Clive Pearse and special guest HGTV Design Star winner David Bromstad kept viewers on the edge of their seats as they waited to find out if they were the winner of $100,000. Robert Reed of Richmond, VA was named as the lucky winner of the cash prize.

"This was the ultimate reality show because viewers were in on the fun and excitement of the live giveaway, and they still had a chance to win a huge cash prize," said Judy Girard, president, HGTV. "Of course, the 2007 HGTV Dream Home, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Colorado Rockies, is truly a magnificent site and would make anyone's dream come true."

Viewers can still see the 360 degree virtual tour of the 2007 HGTV Dream Home in Quick Time, along with Joan Steffend's design tips on http://www.hgtv.com/, and will soon be able to see the location of the 2008 HGTV Dream Home at Dream Home Central.

About the HGTV Dream Home Sweepstakes

One of the most successful consumer promotions in cable TV history, the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway(SM) involves sponsorship from national advertisers including GMC Division, General Motors Corporation, Lumber Liquidators, The Iams Company, LendingTree(R), Inc., Bayer, BISSELL(R) Homecare, Inc., JELD- WEN, Inc., Moen Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Staples, California Closet

Company Inc., Ethan Allen, Sub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc. & Wolf Appliance Co and Hunter Fans.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 91 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, www.HGTV.com is the nation's leading online home and garden destination that attracts an average of 5.4 million unique visitors per month. HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming. The network's branded programming also can be seen in 126 territories across all seven continents and its selected programming is available to service men and women on board Navy ships and through American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS) which services more than 1,000 outlets in over 175 countries. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York, HGTV is wholly owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) , which also operates Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country.

FCMN Contact:

Source: Home & Garden Television

CONTACT: Emily Yarborough, , (mobile),
; or Lynne Davis, ,
(mobile), , both for HGTV

Web site: http://www.hgtv.com/