A Davenport woman was quickly able to put her improved eyesight to work after having Lasik vision-correction surgery last week: She double-checked the lottery ticket that her husband bought and confirmed that they had indeed won a prize of $25,000 a year for life.
Ray Eckstein of Davenport said he used his laptop computer to look up the winning numbers from Thursday’s Lucky for Life® drawing and thought their ticket had matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball. He said he spun the computer around and had his wife, Delena, double-check it “because she’s got good eyes now!”
Delena confirmed that he was right – and then they had to wait through the long Labor Day holiday weekend before claiming their prize today at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.
The couple said they were thinking about their lottery win all weekend and kept checking their ticket to make sure it was still good!
Ray, 58, who retired earlier this year after working in maintenance in the Quad-Cities area, and Delena, who works as a human-resources consultant, said they plan to put the bulk of their winnings into retirement savings. Ray said the additional infusion into their retirement accounts “puts your mind at ease because you’ve got a nest egg sitting back there.”
They also said they need a new lawnmower and home furnace. The couple splurged in the fall of 2017 and bought a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle, so Ray admitted he might get some additional accessories for it. Delena hedged that she’d like a new cupholder for the bike.
The Ecksteins won Iowa’s fifth big prize in Lucky for Life since the lotto game debuted here in January 2016.
Their ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in Thursday night’s drawing to win the game’s second prize of $25,000 a year for life. Ray Eckstein bought their ticket at the Kwik Shop convenience store, 3624 W. Locust St. in Davenport. The winning numbers in Thursday’s Lucky for Life drawing were: 16-20-32-40-46 and Lucky Ball 10. Kwik Shop will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the Ecksteins their winning ticket at one of its stores.
Lucky for Life prize: $25,000 a year for life
Chosen to receive as: $390,000 lump-sum option
Federal withholding: $93,600
State withholding: $19,500
Net amount: $276,900
Congratulations Delena & Ray! Enjoy your Money.
Lucky for Life is the best lotto game to play.
Posted by: Kevin Pidima | September 06, 2018 at 09:29 PM