Central Iowa Man Wins $50,000 Lottery Prize
Danny Mattix Claims Top Prize in '$50,000 Holiday Crossword' Game
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CLIVE, Iowa - A central Iowa man said that a $50,000 lottery win couldn't have come at a better time.
"We've been wanting to get siding and windows and doors," said Danny Mattix of Monroe, who claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Clive. "We've had several estimates. You know what? It's a done deal now."
Mattix, 58, teamed up with his wife, Mary, for the big win. He bought a couple of tickets in the "$50,000 Holiday Crossword" scratch game at Casey's, 509 S. Monroe St. in Monroe, and brought them home. She scratched them that night while they were watching TV in separate rooms.
"I thought I only won $5,000," Mary Mattix said. "Then I checked it on my phone and it's like, 'I think that says $50,000!' So I went out to him and was like, 'I don't know what just happened here.'"
Her husband was just as surprised as she was.
"And you know what? I didn't even look at football the rest of the night, just kept scanning the ticket," Danny Mattix said with a laugh.
He made several late-night calls to family and friends. He said they were excited for them after hesitantly answering the phone.
"They all thought something was wrong, because why else would you call after 12 o'clock at night?" he said.
Danny Mattix said he won $1,000 in a lottery holiday promotion years ago, and since then, he and his wife will occasionally pick up a holiday-themed ticket to play around this time of year.
"Ever since then, around Christmastime we like to play a few," he said. "It was just the right time, I guess, (and) the right place."
The $50,000 Holiday Crossword is a $5 scratch game that features 13 top prizes of $50,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.34.
Players can enter nonwinning holiday scratch tickets into the lottery's Warehouse Dash® Play It Again® promotion from now through 9:59 a.m. on Jan. 4. The promotion will award $200,000 in cash prizes, including a $100,000 grand prize, and four trips to Chicago for a 90-second Warehouse Dash shopping spree. For rules and complete details, visit ialottery.com.
Warehouse Dash is a registered trademark of Hinda, Inc.
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