Twelve Years Later: Ankeny Man Hits Second Big Lottery Prize
Gary West Wins $250,000 Top Prize in 'Aces High' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa - An Ankeny man has won a large lottery prize for a second time.
Gary West, 54, won the first of 18 $250,000 top prizes available in the Iowa Lottery's "Aces High" scratch game. The big win comes 12 years after he won a $100,000 scratch-game prize.
"This is my second time, so I'm feeling more experienced," he said with a chuckle Monday as he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Clive.
West, a security guard at the Facebook data center in Altoona, stopped at Casey's, 170 36th Ave. in Altoona, after work last week to redeem several tickets.
He then bought two more tickets and scratched them in his car. After revealing the $250,000 top prize, he did a double-take and quickly returned to the store to verify the prize on a self-scanner.
"It also told me what I thought I was seeing," he said of the scanner. "By that time, after verifying it to myself three times, I thought, 'OK, it looks like we did it.'"
West told his sister and nephew about his big win. He said the most difficult part was waiting for the weekend to end so he could visit lottery headquarters to claim his prize.
"It's just like I couldn't have enough bodyguards around that ticket," he said. "It's just like, 'Man, get me through this weekend so I can get over there Monday morning and get this cashed."
West, a self-described "two-car guy," said he'll start car shopping soon. He also plans to share some of his winnings with family.
Aces High is a $20 scratch game. Details about how to play this game, and the number of prizes still available, can be found at www.ialottery.com.
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