LOTTERY LUCK RUNS IN FAMILY
AS OTTUMWA MAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

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Charlie McNamer Wins Top Prize of $30,000 Playing the "Treasure Hunter" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – An Ottumwa man headed straight for the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines after realizing he had won the top prize of $30,000 playing the "Treasure Hunter" scratch game.

Charlie McNamer and his family bought the ticket while attending a lottery retailer event Friday in where they also won free ice cream and a hot dog for their eldest son.

"If it feels lucky, get it," said McNamer's wife, Sarah Mullaney.

The winning ticket was bought at Quick Shop Foods, 405 S. Madison Street, in Ottumwa. McNamer claimed his prize that afternoon, only hours after scratching the winning ticket.

McNamer is not the only one in his family to win big with the lottery. McNamer's grandparents won $100,000 with the lottery in 1994. Two days after that win, his grandfather went back into the same convenience store, purchased a ticket, and won another $100,000.

McNamer's grandparents left him their home to live in and raise his family.

Mullaney said, "It is a big coincidence. I think she's watching over us, and we promised her we'd live there."

McNamer said he's happy to be in the house, especially after damage from the 2008 flood.

"The only thing I've ever wanted to do is raise my kids in that house, and now I get to do it," he said.

McNamer and his wife said they want to use his winnings for home renovations, possibly a new vehicle, and to pay off debts.

"Since we own our own house, we can save some of that money so she can go back to school, too, and we can make a better life for our kids," McNamer said.

After the win, McNamer said he plans to keep playing the lottery.

Treasure Hunter is a $3 scratch game. Players win a prize by first uncovering the "Coordinates For Treasure Map" and then uncovering the corresponding squares on the "Treasure Map." If a player completely uncovers a symbol, they win the prize shown in the prize legend for that symbol. Players can win up to $30,000. The overall odds of winning in the game are about 1 in 3.93.

Six prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Treasure Hunter as well as 23 prizes of $3,000 and more than 300 prizes of $300.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.2 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for state programs.