A Quad-Cities man has a very specific purchase in mind now that he’s claimed a $1 million Mega Millions prize: He plans to search the Internet for a 1972 Ford Mustang fastback.
Danny Lovett said it’s a car he’s always wanted since he was a kid – and now he can have one.
Lovett, 60, of East Moline, Ill., claimed his $1 million prize on Monday at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. He’d won big in the Mega Millions drawing on Jan. 15, but said he didn’t check his ticket until a few days later. Then with the frigid winter temperatures that Iowa and the rest of the Midwest have faced over the past couple weeks, Lovett said he waited until the weather improved a bit before heading to the lottery to claim his prize.
He recalled looking at his ticket and realizing he’d matched the first five numbers in the Mega Millions drawing. He said he counted and he counted again and thought, “There’s no way!” But once he got his prize check at the lottery, he said things were becoming more real.
Lovett said he plans to use his winnings to buy a house, put a big chunk away for retirement, help his family – and buy that car.
Lovett drives a truck route from Davenport to Des Moines. He said that the Kum & Go store at 1200 N. Walnut St. in Colfax is a regular stop for him during his drive, and while he’s buying coffee and a snack, he usually buys a lottery ticket, too.
Lovett’s ticket was one of two in the country to win a $1 million prize in the Jan. 15 Mega Millions drawing. The other was purchased in California. Lovett came within one number of having at least a share of that night’s $55 million jackpot, matching the first five numbers but missing the Mega Ball. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot that night, so the big prize continued to climb.
The Jan. 15 winning numbers were: 29-52-58-60-62 and Mega Ball 7. The Megaplier® number was 2.
Kum & Go received a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.
Lovett’s ticket was the second purchased at the Colfax store to win a $1 million prize in about a year. George Dickerson of Colfax claimed a $1 million Powerball® prize in January 2018 with a ticket he bought at that same Kum & Go store. He said at the time that freezing weather almost made him stay home, but he decided to brave the cold and went out to buy tickets just a few minutes before the sales cut-off time for the Powerball drawing on Dec. 30, 2017. And it turned out to be a very lucky New Year’s weekend for him!
Way 2 Go Danny ! Glad to hear you are going to finally get your dream car. Have fun looking for your new toy and enjoy when you get it.
Posted by: Kevin Pidima | February 04, 2019 at 02:32 PM