A central Iowa business owner has claimed a big lottery prize for the second time this year.
Tom Clark went to Iowa Lottery headquarters Thursday to claim the top prize available in the “$250,000 Riches” scratch game. In February, the 63-year-old Clark claimed a $77,777 prize from another scratch ticket game.
“I’m extra lucky. This is unbelievable,” Clark said. The most recent winning ticket was purchased Thursday morning at a Des Moines convenience store.
Clark, who co-owns Clark Glass, Inc. with his brothers, said he was in a hurry so he just scratched off the bar code of the $20 ticket so that he could check it right away using a self-scanner inside the store.
“I just slid it in there to see it, if it was a winner or not, and it came up $250,000,” Clark said. “I thought, ‘what? no way!'” He then scratched off the entire ticket and verified that he had indeed won $250,000. Clark plans to use his lottery winnings to pay off his mortgage and save for retirement.
“I”m just going to enjoy life from now on,” Clark said.
Photo courtesy of the Iowa Lottery