Sunny Afternoon Leads to $50,000 Lottery Surprise for Scott County Man
Michael Belk Claims Top Prize In '$50,000 Super Crossword' Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Scott County man thought he was just enjoying a sunny afternoon with his wife until a scratch ticket turned it into a $50,000 celebration.
“Pretty well stunned: We both were,” Michael Belk said on Friday as he claimed his prize at the lottery's Cedar Rapids regional office.
Belk won the 90th top prize in the Iowa Lottery's “$50,000 Super Crossword” scratch game. He bought a few tickets at Casey's, 1515 11th St. in De Witt, and he and his wife Claire scratched them later that day.
“I live in McCausland, we've got a nice bar and a little outdoor patio and we were sitting there, scratching tickets in the afternoon and just kind of relaxing, enjoying the nice weather,” Belk said.
On one of his tickets, Belk thought he'd won $25, until he checked the ticket with the Iowa Lottery mobile app and got the shock of a lifetime.
“It said $50,000. I looked and thought, 'Oh, I missed a few letters!'” Belk said. “She couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it, but I said, 'The phone's never lied when we had other winners, so I gotta believe it's good.”
Belk said he and his wife plan to save the winnings for now.
“We don't have any big-ticket things,” he said. “We're both retired now so we're just going to use it to enjoy retirement.”
The $50,000 Super Crossword is a $5 scratch game that features 105 top prizes of $50,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.26. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit www.ialottery.com.
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