Waterloo Woman Claims Prize of $25,000 a Year for Life
Dawn Costa Wins In The Lucky For Life Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Waterloo woman credits a visit from a winged friend with her decision to buy a lottery ticket on which she won a prize of $25,000 a year for life.
Dawn Costa said that she used to play the Lucky for Life® game regularly with her mom, who passed away two years ago. Costa said that her mother loved owls, and last week, an owl landed on the railing of her deck and stayed for some time.
"My mom loved owls. And everybody in that condo always says they've never seen owls there," Costa said. "And they're like, 'Why is it always at your house?' Well, I know why."
Costa, 57, said that the next day, she decided to buy a Lucky for Life ticket for the first time since her mom's passing. That easy-pick ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball to win a prize of $25,000 a year for life in the game's drawing on Jan. 12.
Costa said that before driving on Tuesday to Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive to claim her prize, she decided to look for the owl again.
"So last night, I was outside and I said, 'Mom, you need to come back!'" she said. "And I was looking over there where the owl is supposed to be because I know that's her. I went out there this morning and she was sitting there."
Costa is Iowa's 17th big winner in the Lucky for Life game since its January 2016 debut in our state.
Lucky for Life is a $2 game with drawings each night. The game's top two prize levels are described as "lasting as long as you do," meaning that they are truly for life. The minimum guaranteed payout for those two prize levels is 20 years, and there is a lump-sum option for players who would prefer that rather than lifetime annuity payments.
Costa bought her winning ticket at Kwik Star, 1636 W. Fourth St. in Waterloo, the store where she said she often bought tickets with her mom.
The winning numbers in the Jan. 12 drawing were: 3-12-17-42-45 and Lucky Ball 6. Kwik Star will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.
Costa chose to receive her prize as the lump-sum option of $390,000. She said she recently bought a condominium and plans to use her lottery winnings to pay off her mortgage and invest for the future.
She said she will continue to play, and already bought some Lucky for Life tickets for one of her sisters.
"I've got my family to hang out with and my owl to look for every night. That's what I'm going to do," she said.
Players in Lucky for Life choose five numbers from a pool of 48 for the white balls and one out of 18 numbers for the Lucky Ball. Players can win the game's top prize of $1,000 a day for life by matching all six numbers selected in one of its drawings. The game's second prize – for matching the first five numbers but missing the Lucky Ball – is $25,000 a year for life. Other prize levels in the game range from $3 up to $5,000.
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