Davenport Man Wins First $500,000 Prize in New Scratch Game
Justin Strother Hit Big In The Game's First Week Of Sales
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Davenport man predicted his own big lottery win.
"I work with two guys. I told them, just joking around, 'I'm going to go buy one and I'm going to hit the top prize,'" Justin Strother said Tuesday as he claimed the first of six top prizes of $500,000 available in the Iowa Lottery's new "$500,000 Ca$h" scratch game. "I told them that for three days straight. And then I went and did it. I called them and I said, 'You're not going to believe me, but I hit the top prize.'"
Strother, 33, a self-employed flooring installer, won in the game's first week of sales. The $500,000 Ca$h game just debuted April 4.
Strother purchased his winning ticket at As Food and Gas, 2365 Rockingham Road in Davenport. He said he scanned the ticket on a self-checker at the store and then immediately ran outside to where his wife was waiting in the car.
"I got in the car and I said, 'Kylie, go, go go! We've got to put this in the safe!'" he recalled. "She's like, 'What are you talking about?' I said, 'I just won half a million dollars!' She goes, 'No you didn't!' So I pulled it up on the app and she goes, 'Oh, my gosh!'"
Strother said he continued to use the Iowa Lottery's mobile app throughout the day to prove the results of his win. He said that his mom spread the word about his good luck by failing to follow her own advice.
"I showed her the ticket. She's like, 'Oh, my gosh.' She didn't even know what to do," Strother said. "She even said, 'Don't tell anybody.' And then she told everybody."
The $500,000 Ca$h game is a $50 scratch game that features prizes ranging from $50 up to $500,000. Players try to match numbers in the playing area on tickets in the game to win a prize. The game has overall odds of winning of 1 in 3.09. For more information about this game and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com.
Strother said that he and Kylie have plans for their winnings: a three-bedroom house for them and their two children, a new pick-up truck and a camper. He called his win "a re-start button."
"It's a re-start to life," he said. "It's going to be debt-free for sure!"
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