CLIVE, Iowa— A Boone man who bought his mother a $100,000-winning lottery ticket last year has now won a $100,000 prize of his own.
“Lightning striking twice in one place is pretty crazy,” Troy Dennis told officials last Friday as he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Clive. “I mean, the chances of that are slim to none.”
Dennis, 55, won the eighth and final top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s “Cash In” scratch game. He purchased his winning ticket at L & M Gas & Grocery, 320 W. Mamie Eisenhower Ave. in Boone.
The win comes five months after his mother, Terry, won a $100,000 prize on a ticket in a different scratch game he purchased for her at the same store.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Dennis said. “It was like, ‘Well, my mom had just won, now it’s my turn.’ I guess that’s just good karma.”
Dennis, a contractor, said he was on his way into work when he stopped for a morning coffee. He noticed the Cash In game had replaced his usual go-to scratch game in the store’s ticket display, so he decided to buy a couple of them.
“I scratched the first one standing at the counter and it was a $100,000 winner,” Dennis said. He called his mother, who thought he was kidding, then continued on with his previous plan.
“I was headed to work, so I locked the ticket up at home, and continued and went to work anyway,” he said with a laugh.
Dennis said he hasn’t yet decided what he’ll do with his winnings, but is considering investing in his business and taking a family vacation.
“Haven’t had one of those in — I can’t remember when,” he said. “I’m well overdue.”
Once the final top prize in a scratch game is claimed, distribution ends and the game is pulled from shelves. For more information about Iowa Lottery scratch games, and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com.
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