Days Before Birthday, Southern Iowa Man Wins $100,000 Lottery Prize
Cody Shields Claims Top Prize In 'Diamond Dollars' Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — An southern Iowa man said a spur-of-the-moment decision to buy a scratch ticket turned into an early birthday present when he discovered he'd won $100,000.
"I scratched the ticket and I'm like, 'Well, this birthday's a little extra special this year!'" said Cody Shields, who turns 34 on Sunday.
Shields, of Lamoni, won a top prize in the Iowa Lottery's "Diamond Dollars" scratch game. He stopped after work at Pump & Pantry, 14200 Douglas Parkway in Urbandale, for a pop and a candy bar, and on a whim, decided to add a ticket from the $10 game.
"I was sitting in my truck scratching and kind of did a double-take," he said Wednesday as he claimed his prize at the lottery's main office in Clive. "After I scanned it with my phone after dropping my phone a couple of times, I finally gathered myself and thought, 'OK, I've got to go back in there and see if this is the real deal.'"
After asking an employee to double-check the ticket on the store terminal, Shields said his big win began to sink in.
"He said, 'Oh, my gosh! You won $100,000!'" he recalled with a laugh. "I'm like, 'It's a good day! It's a win!'"
Shields said he plans to use his winnings to help out a couple of friends in need and invest for the future.
"I definitely won't go out and blow it," he said. "It's probably a one-time thing — hopefully not! — but I'm going to choose my next steps wisely."
Diamond Dollars is a $10 scratch game with prizes ranging from $10 to $100,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.86. For more information about this game and the number of prizes still available, www.ialottery.com.
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