A West Burlington woman’s craving for something sweet led to a $10,000 Iowa Lottery win.
Carol Gerst stopped at Casey’s to redeem a free candy bar and had planned to buy a scratch ticket at another store. But she decided to keep things simple.
“I’m not going to two gas stations. I’ll just go to Casey’s,” she said.
Gerst and her son, Caleb, went to the Casey’s at 501 E. Mount Pleasant St. in West Burlington, where she picked up a Reese’s Sticks bar and a Ruby Red Crossword scratch ticket.
She scratched the ticket while running errands and quickly realized she had won something. To confirm, she scanned it with the Iowa Lottery mobile app.
“It says $10,000,” she said. “And I’m saying, ‘No, I think there’s a mistake!’”
It turns out she had forgotten to scratch one letter—an “H”—which made all the difference. That single letter pushed her winnings up to the $10,000 prize, which she claimed Tuesday at the Iowa Lottery’s regional office in Cedar Rapids.
Gerst, 76, works at a facility that cares for residents with special needs. She plans to use her winnings for a home repair, to surprise friends with a little extra cash, and to treat herself.
“At my age, we are having fun with any bonus, anything extra. This is fun money for me!” she said.
Ruby Red Crossword is a $30 scratch game featuring 16 top prizes of $300,000 and 47 prizes of $10,000, with overall odds of 1 in 2.29.
For more details on the game and remaining prizes, visit ialottery.com.