'I just started screaming' after $300,000 Lottery win - I cashed first ticket, but bought another an
A LUCKY Iowa resident has won $300,000 from a Lottery scratch-off game.
The Iowa man cashed in a winning ticket and bought another with the money, which scored him the whopping prize.
LUCKY DAY
Gregory Monahan from Mason City, Iowa won $300,000 from a series of lottery wins.
Monahan, 45, initially won $40 playing the Iowa Lottery's Ruby Red Crossword scratch-off game.
"I was going to cash the [ticket] in at the Kwik Star near my work, but I decided not to because I was too tired, so I just started driving home," he told the Iowa Lottery.
As he got closer to home, he changed his mind and decided to stop at the Kwik Star gas station at 1502 South Federal Avenue in Mason City.
Read More on Lottery
He cashed in the $40 prize money and bought another Ruby Red Crossword game, which ended up winning the top third prize, $300,000.
"Got home, scratched the QR code and scanned it, and just shocked, just totally shocked," Monahan said.
"I just started screaming. Just the biggest rush of excitement ever: That's the only way I can explain it," he added.
He is still undecided on what he will do with the prize money.
Most read in Money
"I'm going to tuck a lot of it away in the bank right now. I'm not going to jump the gun on anything right away."
RUBY RED CROSSWORD
The game that Monahan lucked out on was the Ruby Red Crossword, a scratch-off game that costs $30 to play.
Players scratch off their tickets to reveal crossword-style puzzles and win prizes if they complete words or phrases, according to the game's rules.
The game has 16 top prizes of $300,000 and 47 prizes of $10,000.
The overall odds of winning any amount are one in 2.29, while the odds of winning the $300,000 prize are only one in 118,113.13.
Before playing, keep in mind that gambling is risky and can lead to addiction.
Lottery players who are struggling with gambling addiction can call the National Gambling Hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visit the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
OTHER WINNERS
Other lottery players similarly hit a stroke of luck and won huge prize amounts.
One airport worker from California, Durwin Hickman, won $20 million.
On his lunch break, he stopped at a nearby liquor store and bought the winning Set For Life! lottery ticket for $30.
"It was the biggest rush I have had in my life," he told the California State Lottery.
He plans to use some of his prize money to buy a home for his wife.
Read More on The US Sun
Another lottery player won $10,000 on a scratch-off but was refused her prize at lottery headquarters.
Also check out the man that won $20,000 but his sister had a claim to the ticket — he almost crashed the car when she told him.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEZqqupl6YvK57zKilnrFfboV6fJdqbWihn6yubrnAp2SwoZ6oeq27062cq7Fdp8KjxYyrnJ1lk6e8tL%2FWqKmdZw%3D%3D