For nearly eight months, we've wondered if we’d ever get to meet the winners of a Cedar Rapids prize of $25,000 a year for life. Well, now it’s happened!
Chuck and Sherry Thomas of Cedar Rapids claimed the prize they won in the Nov. 4 drawing of the Lucky for Life® game. The couple said they'd known the good news since shortly after the drawing, but they purposefully waited until yesterday to claim the prize so they had a plan in place for their winnings.
Chuck Thomas, who is 60, bought their winning easy-pick ticket at Casey’s, 641 Edgewood Road NW in Cedar Rapids. He said he initially bought a ticket on a Wednesday, thinking it would be for the next night’s Lucky for Life drawing. What he didn’t realize was that in July 2021, Lucky for Life had changed from two drawings a week to nightly drawings. So, his ticket ended up being for Wednesday’s drawing.
As he drove past the Casey’s store, Chuck said he decided to stop and buy another ticket that actually would be for Thursday’s drawing. One of the plays on that ticket ended up winning Lucky for Life’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.
Sherry Thomas, 55, said that at the time, they had just ordered new carpet for their home. She said that if they had won just a little sooner, they might have gotten wood floors.
The couple’s prize is the 13th big win by Iowa players in the game since it debuted in January 2016 in the state.
Chuck and Sherry chose to receive their prize in a lump-sum payment of $390,000. They said they were thinking about buying a hot tub with some of their winnings, but they plan to invest most of the money with an eye toward retirement. Chuck said their lottery win will hopefully make retirement a lot easier!
The winning numbers in the Lucky for Life drawing on Nov. 4 were: 6-9-12-23-41 and Lucky Ball 8. The couple’s ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball to win at the game’s second prize level.
Casey’s received a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.
Comments