CLIVE, Iowa — A Mason City man who won $50,000 on a scratch ticket said he made fast tracks to claim the big prize.
“I told my wife, went down and thanked the kid who sold it to me and came up to the lottery office,” Richard Millard said on Wednesday as he claimed his prize at the lottery’s Mason City regional office. “I didn’t want to lose the ticket.”
Millard, 72, won the eighth top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s exclusive “Hawkeye™” scratch game. He bought his lucky ticket at Yesway, 1920 S. Federal Ave. in Mason City, and scratched it when he got home.
“I checked it again and then again,” he said. “I was just pleased, happy. I’m not a very emotional type of guy, I guess. I’m kind of laid-back, but I was excited and happy about it.”
Millard said he and his wife haven’t yet decided what they’ll do with the winnings.
“We usually go down south for a few weeks in the winter, so we might extend that stay a little bit,” he said. “I don’t know. I just haven’t given it much thought yet.”
The Hawkeye scratch game features the distinctive Tigerhawk™ logo and images of the Herky Mascot™ in the Hawkeyes’ black and gold colors. The game offers 10 top prizes of $50,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.40.