Joking around may have gotten in the way a little bit when it came to a Woodbury County man’s $500,000 lottery win.
Gene Dice Sr. of Sergeant Bluff said he didn’t believe the news at first when the clerk at a local convenience store told him he’d won big. And then he had a hard time getting his adult children to believe the news, also because jokes are such a standard part of his life.
But after turning in his winning Powerball® ticket today at lottery headquarters in Clive, Dice had this to say: “No joke! We have the ticket.”
Dice, 73 and retired, said he learned he’d won a $500,000 prize on Sunday morning during his usual stop for coffee. He said he asked the clerk at the store to check his ticket from the previous night’s Powerball drawing and she initially told him she thought he’d won a $50,000 prize. But he double-checked the details printed by the lottery terminal and realized there was another “0” involved in the prize amount.
Dice bought his $500,000-winning ticket at that same store, Mike’s Mini Mart, 100 Iowa Highway 75 S. in Sergeant Bluff. His ticket came within one number of having at least a share of Saturday’s $81.3 million jackpot.
He initially matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. But because he also added the Power Play® option to his easy-pick ticket, his winnings were multiplied to $500,000.
Dice said he always adds the Power Play to his ticket and is especially glad he did that with Saturday’s 10X multiplier. His message for other players: “Put the Power Play on there and see what happens!”
Saturday’s winning numbers were: 4-8-22-32-58 and Powerball 4. The Power Play number was 10. Dice’s ticket was one of nine across the country to win a $500,000 prize that night. Mike’s Mini Mart will receive a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $500,000-winning ticket.
Dice said he plans to use part of his winnings to pay off his car and truck, and added that his big win has helped alleviate his retirement worries.
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