Cedar Rapids Man Scratches Off $500,000 Lottery Prize En Route To Birthday Bash
David Smutz Claims First Top Prize In 'Mega Bucks' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Cedar Rapids man has claimed the first $500,000 top prize in the Iowa Lottery's "Mega Bucks" scratch game.
David Smutz scratched his winning ticket while his wife was driving them to a friend's birthday party on Saturday.
"I was sitting over in the passenger seat and I was scratching away and all of a sudden I went, 'Oh… my!'" Smutz recalled. "She looked and goes, 'That's not real!' And I said, 'No, it's real!'"
Smutz announced his good fortune once he and his wife arrived at the party, but nobody believed him. He scanned his ticket with the Iowa Lottery's mobile app and showed the message on the screen to prove he was a big winner.
Smutz joked that he accidentally turned his friend's birthday party into a celebration for himself.
"It was old pop here!" he joked. "I hit $500,000 and they were all my buddies all of a sudden."
He bought his winning ticket at Hy-Vee Drugstore, 4825 Johnson Ave. NW in Cedar Rapids, and claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Clive.
Smutz, 71, is the general manager of a trucking company. Despite his big win, he has no plans of retiring because he still enjoys working. He said he will use his winnings to buy a new car and continue his love of traveling with his wife.
"We'll see if I want to travel a little farther now," he joked.
Mega Bucks is a $50 scratch game that features 13 top prizes of $500,000, 12 prizes of $25,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.09. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit www.ialottery.com.
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