‘What the hay?’ Man impulsively buys Iowa lottery ticket — wins his biggest prize yet

David Kruger was in line at a Kwik Star convenience store when he saw the man in front of him buy a $30 lottery ticket.

“And I’m like, ‘What the hay? I’ll buy the next one,’” he recently recalled to Iowa Lottery officials.

That impulsive decision paid off.

While the 47-year-old man was waiting on his laundry at a laundromat, he used the Iowa Lottery mobile app to scan his “Colossal Crossword” scratch game ticket, according to a news release.

“When it showed he won $10,000, he didn’t believe his eyes and scanned it a few more times just to make sure,” lottery officials said in the release.

Kruger said he has scored a $500 prize “a few times,” but he’s never won as much as $10,000.

“It was kind of a sigh of relief, because in June I’m getting a hip replacement surgery,” he said when claiming his prize on March 6.

Kruger bought his winning lottery ticket in Charles City, about 150 miles northeast of Des Moines.

This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 4:35 PM with the headline "‘What the hay?’ Man impulsively buys Iowa lottery ticket — wins his biggest prize yet."