Des Moines Woman Wins $100,000 Lottery Prize
Veronica Cruz Wins Top Prize in 'Super 20s' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Des Moines woman who won a $100,000 lottery prize said it was difficult to convince her family she'd really won.
"My mom didn't believe me," Veronica Cruz told officials on Monday as she claimed her prize at lottery headquarters in Clive. "Even when I called my mom this morning and told her I had been emotional, she goes, 'Why? Because it wasn't real?' I said, 'It is real! It's hitting me now!'"
Cruz won the 15th top prize in the Iowa Lottery's "Super 20s" scratch game. She bought her winning ticket at Casey's, 3200 SW Ninth St. in Des Moines, where she'd stopped after finishing a late-night work shift at a local restaurant.
She scratched the ticket when she got home and thought she'd won $100 until she realized her prize was much larger. She said her celebration woke up her entire household.
"I called anyone that I thought would answer the phone at 3:30 a.m. and just celebrated with everyone else the next day," she said.
Cruz said she and her fiancé haven't decided what they'll do with their winnings, but the big win has brought a sense of relief.
"Stuff like this doesn't happen in our family, so it's nice," she said. "I know this is going to be just something to make our life better and feel free to do things that we weren't able to do before."
Super 20s is a $20 scratch game that features 16 top prizes of $100,000, 16 prizes of $10,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.40 For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit www.ialottery.com.
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