DES MOINES, Iowa - When a Davenport woman discovered she'd won the very last top prize of $100,000 playing the "Triple Platinum 777" game on her break at work, she couldn't believe what she saw.
Jolene Ronek, 50, scratched the ticket during her evening break where she works as a machinist.
"I started shaking and I couldn't believe what I saw," Ronek said. "I took it to the break room to show all the other guys and I was in tears. They told me to sign it right away."
Ronek said her head was fuzzy because she couldn't believe the win was real.
"I kept looking at those zeros and going, 'No, that isn't right,'" she said.
Ronek told her family about her big win before claiming her prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. Ronek said it also put everyone at work in a great mood for the rest of the evening shift.
"One of the guys at work got on the radio and told everyone," Ronek said with a laugh. "Everybody was just happy that someone they knew won."
Ronek said she was really surprised to get the big winner, because it was the very first ticket in a new pack of Triple Platinum 777 tickets at the QC Mart, 1402 State St. in Bettendorf.
Ronek said she's looking forward to using her winnings to become debt-free and also plans to use some to take a trip this summer.
"We travel all over riding motorcycles," she said.
Triple Platinum 777 was a $10 scratch game. Players scratched the "dollar" symbols and the "bonus box." If they revealed the "7" game symbol, they won the prize shown for that symbol. If they revealed the "77" game symbol, they won double the prize shown for that symbol. If they revealed the "777" game symbol, they won triple the prize shown for that symbol. If they got two like symbols in "bonus box," they won $50 instantly. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game were 1 in 3.11.
Players can enter eligible nonwinning scratch tickets online to earn "Points For Prizes®" points. The point value will be revealed to the player on the website upon successful submission of each eligible valid ticket. There is a limit of 30 ticket entries per day. To participate in Points For Prizes®, a player must register for a free account at ialottery.com. Registration is a one-time process. Merchandise that can be ordered by using points will be listed on the website in the Points For Prizes® online store. Players can choose from items in categories such as apparel, automotive, jewelry, sporting, tools and more.
Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.8 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.
Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.
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