NATCHEZ &045; LaToya Sanders and Detruon Bingham have an adversarial friendship.

When Bingham tells Sanders one thing, Sanders has a tendency to do exactly the opposite.

And most times, Sanders ends up better for it. On Monday morning, Sanders ended 57,000 times better.

Last April, when Bingham refused to let her use his phone, Sanders decided to get a phone for herself. So she went to Natchez and bought a phone at the Cellular South store.

A couple of months later, Sanders walked into the store to pay her bill and started to leave the store when she spotted the chance to sign up for a contest to win a brand-new Hummer from Cellular South and Nokia.

With dreams of driving away in a fancy new vehicle, Sanders reached for a pen to fill out an entry form.

And as she started to write her name, her friend Bingham spoke up.

&uot;He said, ‘You are just wasting your time. You’re not going to win a Hummer,’&uot; Sanders said Monday recalling that day.

And as usual, Sanders paid little attention, filled out the form and dropped it in the box.

Sanders’ form joined more than 45,000 other entries in a promotion held during the summer at Cellular South stores in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

Sanders thought little of that incident until she received a phone call a few months later from Cellular South.

She was told she had a won a prize in their contest &045; not the grand prize, but a free phone with one year’s free service instead. They asked if she could drive from her home in Fayette to Natchez to pick up her prize Monday morning.

Little did Sanders know that a brand new bright orange 2003 Hummer H2 worth $57,000 was waiting for her behind the store.

Monday morning, Sanders drove down in her white Honda Civic, accompanied by Bingham. She parked in front of the store and was greeted by store manager Jerry Roberts and south Mississippi Area Manager Shane Tuttle.

As she browsed phones inside the store, the Hummer was wheeled around to the front &045; and Tuttle mentioned to Sanders that she had a second prize option.

Walking out the door, Tuttle said Sanders could take the phone or take what was waiting in the parking lot.

Sanders looked and her eyes widened with surprise. &uot;I won the Hummer? Are you sure?&uot; she said as everyone laughed.

Sanders proceeded to hug everyone in the parking lot, including reporters covering the event.

&uot;I’ve got to call my mom,&uot; Sanders said wandering around the vehicle in a fog of happiness.

Later, while signing the necessary paperwork, it dawned on Sanders.

She looked up at her friend, Bingham, and said, &uot;He’s the reason I won. He’s always the reason.&uot;