Iowa Lottery

Belated Birthday Gift Turns Into $15,000 Prize For Cherokee County Woman

Donna Riedemann Wins Top Prize Playing "Betty Boop™" Scratch Game

  Hear Donna tell her story.

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DES MOINES, Iowa - A belated birthday gift from her brother had a Cherokee County woman in shock when she won a top prize of $15,000 playing the lottery's "Betty Boop™" instant-scratch game.

Donna Riedemann turned 62 on Dec. 22, and her brother, Donald Roland, gave her a few scratch tickets as a gift on Dec. 25.

"I won $2 on one, and when I got to the last one I won the $15,000," Riedemann said. "I couldn't believe it."

Roland was with Riedemann when she scratched the ticket, so they were able to celebrate together.

"He could not believe it. He had to go outside and get a breath of fresh air!" she said.

Riedemann, who is a clerk at Fareway in Cherokee, said she occasionally plays scratch tickets herself, but she's never won a prize this big. She has since told other family members, who were all excited for her.

"The first thing I thought was, 'Here's my vacation money to see my son,'" she said. "He didn't get to come home for Christmas."

Riedemann is from Marcus. She said she also plans to pay some bills with her winnings and just make life easier.

"I just know my husband is going to sleep a lot easier knowing this was all real," Riedemann said with a laugh.

Riedemann claimed her prize Dec. 27 at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Storm Lake. The winning ticket was purchased at Sparky's One Stop, 410 W. Hwy 7 in Newell.

Players can "Super Tech" the Halls in the Iowa Lottery's Super Tech promotion this holiday season. All ten holiday instant-scratch tickets can be entered online for a chance to win one of 250 Sony® tech prizes or one of six "Super Prizes" valued at more than $4,900 each. The eligible tickets are: "Holiday Countdown," "Holiday Bonus Crossword," "Merry Crossword," "Lucky Elves Bingo," "Holiday Wishes," "Sparkling Winnings," "Betty Boop™," "Snow Bank," "Santa Games Doubler" and "Winter Bucks." To participate in Super Tech, a player must register for a free Iowa Lottery VIP Club account at ialottery.com. Registration is a one-time process. All holiday tickets entered into Super Tech will also earn players "Points For Prizes™" points that can be used in the Iowa Lottery's online store.

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