Central Iowa Man Buys Donuts for Coworkers, Wins $30,000 Lottery Prize
Paul Forck Wins Prize in 'Win Big' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa - A central Iowa man stopped to buy donuts for his coworkers and purchased a lottery ticket on which he won $30,000.
Paul Forck, 51, of Colfax, won the 31st prize of $30,000 in the Iowa Lottery's "Win Big" scratch game.
"Went back, shared the donuts and I suppose it was a couple hours later, I decided, 'Well, I'll scratch that ticket,'" said Forck, who purchased his ticket at Price Chopper, 1819 Beaver Ave. in Des Moines. "The very last number was the winning number.
"I looked at it probably five or six times, thinking, 'OK, my eyes are messing up. I'm misreading numbers.'"
Forck who is recently married, said he immediately wanted to call his wife, Kathie, but realized he'd left his phone at home, so he borrowed a coworker's phone instead.
"She first accused me of pulling her leg," said Forck, who works in the forestry department for the city of Des Moines. "It took me a little convincing. I ended up using the phone I borrowed and sent a picture of the ticket to her."
Forck claimed his prize on Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Clive. He said he and his wife plan to use their winnings to pay bills.
"Honestly, I buy the tickets and hope to win my money back plus $20, $30, is my realistic goal," he said. "I always hoped to hit the big one, but I never thought it would happen."
Win Big is a $30 scratch game that features eight top prizes of $300,000, 42 prizes of $30,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.38. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com.
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