Lucas County Man Takes Winning $77,777 Lottery Ticket On Vacation
Randy McSparen Claims Top Prize In New 'Super 7s' Scratch Game
To download image, right click on image, then navigate to 'Save Picture As' to save this file to your computer. To download digital audio files of this story, right click here, then navigate to "Save Target As" to save this file to your computer.
CLIVE, Iowa – A Lucas County man won a $77,777 lottery prize but already had a vacation planned well before his big win.
"We've had a vacation planned for three months now to go to the Gulf shores," explained Randy McSparen of Russell. "[The ticket] took a road trip with us to Alabama and back."
McSparen, 53, purchased his winning ticket at Chariton BP, 107 E. Grace Ave. in Chariton, and scratched it off right away in his truck.
"Went home and showed my wife," he said. "I held up the ticket and I put my thumb over the amount and said, 'Look. I got a winning ticket.' And she goes, 'Yeah. How much?' And I just started moving my thumb and the 7s kept coming."
His wife, Deena, said the number 7 has always been a lucky number for them.
"My oldest one was born on Feb. 7. My middle one was born Jan. 7," explained Deena. "And my daughter was born the seventh month; she was born July."
After their vacation, Randy came to Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive and claimed the fourth of eight top prizes of $77,777 available in the new "Super 7s" scratch game.
"Several times this week he's grabbed my hand or my arm and said, 'I still can't believe it!'" said Deena.
Randy, who works at Watts Vault & Monument Company in Chariton, said he knows just how they plan to use the unexpected winnings.
"First off, pay off some bills," he said. "Then fix the house a little bit more."
Super 7s is a $10 scratch game. More details about how to play this game, and number of prizes still up for grabs in it can be found on the Iowa Lottery's website, www.ialottery.com.
Return to top↑