Hunger Pangs Lead to $150,000 Lottery Win for Central Iowa Man
Marco Gonzalez-Suarez Claims Top Prize In 'Feeling Lucky?' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — A spur-of-the-moment decision turned into a $150,000 lottery win for a central Iowa man.
Marco Gonzalez-Suarez, 26, of West Des Moines, won the fourth top prize in the Iowa Lottery's “Feeling Lucky?” scratch game.
“I was coming back from the gym. To be honest, I never buy scratch-off tickets and I was hungry, so I stopped by to get some food,” said Gonzalez-Suarez, who bought his winning ticket at Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh, 7220 Hickman Road in Windsor Heights. “Something just said, 'Hey, why don't I just buy one?'”
He took the ticket home and scratched it later that day and said he was in disbelief when he uncovered one of the game's top prizes.
“I just kind of froze, like, 'No way!'” he said. “Honestly, I didn't believe it. It didn't seem real.”
He said it wasn't until he scanned the ticket with the Iowa Lottery mobile app that the reality of his big win began to sink in.
Gonzalez-Suarez, a truck driver, said he plans to invest the bulk of his winnings for retirement, but may set some aside for a fun purchase or two.
Feeling Lucky? is a $10 scratch game that features six top prizes of $150,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.15. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit www.ialottery.com.
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