Central Iowa Man Didn't Realize For Days That He'd Won A Big Lottery Prize
Brandon Richey Claims Prize of $25,000 A Year For Life
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CLIVE, Iowa - A central Iowa man said he walked around for days without realizing that a lottery ticket in his wallet had won a prize of $25,000 a year for life.
Brandon Richey of Dallas Center said he generally waits until he can check a few tickets at a time. So nearly a week after the Lucky for Life® drawing where he won at the game's second prize level of $25,000 a week for life, he finally checked his ticket.
"I was on my way to work and I stopped at a convenience store to get a coffee. While my coffee was brewing, I checked my tickets," he said as claimed his prize Monday at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.
When the lottery self-checker displayed the amount his ticket had won, Richey said he had trouble believing what he was seeing.
"I put it back in my billfold, paid for my coffee, and went to another convenience store to check it again," he said. "It said the same thing."
Richey, who works as a server at a West Des Moines restaurant, said he got to work soon after, but wonders how he made it through.
"I was probably more distracted than I should have been that night," he said.
Richey bought his winning ticket at Kum & Go, 3105 Grand Prairie Parkway in Waukee, for the Dec. 15 drawing in Lucky for Life. His ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball to win at the game's second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.
That night's winning numbers were: 9-12-22-36-45 and Lucky Ball 3.
Kum & Go received a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling Richey his winning ticket.
Richey chose to receive his prize as the lump-sum option of $390,000 rather than in annuity payments over time.
He said that he decided to wait until after the holiday rush to claim his prize, and now plans to use the bulk of his winnings to invest for the future.
"I'm just going to pay off some bills and probably invest all of the rest," he said. "I'm very grateful."
Iowa Winning Streak
Richey is Iowa's third big winner in the multi-state Lucky for Life game in as many months.
In November, a Des Moines man won the game's top prize of $1,000 a day for life. And in October, another Des Moines man won at the game's second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.
With the latest win added in, Iowa has seen 23 winners at Lucky for Life's top two prize levels since the game's 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.
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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