Sold-Out Scratch Game Leads Des Moines Woman to $50,000 Lottery Win

CLIVE, Iowa — A Des Moines woman's preferred scratch ticket was sold out, so she bought one in a different game and won $50,000.

Sara Johnson, 38, won a top prize in the Iowa Lottery's "Mega Bucks" scratch game. While running a work errand, she stopped to purchase a water at Kwik Star, 1101 NE 56th St. in Pleasant Hill. As she grabbed her water, she spotted the store's self-service kiosk. She said she decided to buy the Mega Bucks ticket after another $5 scratch game failed to dispense.

That turned out to be a good choice. She scratched the ticket that night, then was in shock as she scratched off the prize amount and saw zero after zero.

"There's a zero and I think I at least doubled my money," Johnson said with a laugh on Monday as she claimed her prize at the lottery's main office in Clive. "There's another zero! I've got $100. There's another zero! Now it's not real.

"I had to sit and look at it for a long time," she added.

Johnson, an assistant manager at a pizza shop, said she plans to use the winnings to pay bills, cover some upcoming moving expenses, and treat herself to something fun.

"I'm a very simple creature," she said. "I'll go get a tattoo and be happy."

Mega Bucks is a $5 scratch game that features six top prizes of $50,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.67. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit www.ialottery.com.