Gas station worker wins Iowa lottery. Now she can see family for first time in 8 years
A 34-year-old lottery winner said the first thing she plans do with her jackpot prize is reunite with her family she hasn’t seen in eight years, according to a Feb. 17 news release from the Iowa Lottery.
“I’ll be able to go see my family in New Hampshire,” Samantha Poulson, 34, a gas station employee, told lottery officials.
Poulson of Algona won a top prize on a “$30,000 Crossword” scratch-off ticket, according to the release.
The winner told lottery officials she noticed her ticket had more completed words than usual.
“I knew I had won something, but I didn’t think I won that much,” Poulson said, per the release. “I’m still in shock.”
Poulson bought her winning $3 game ticket from a One Stop Shop in Algona – a different gas station from where she works, according to lottery officials.
Algona is about a 135-mile drive north from Des Moines.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Gas station worker wins Iowa lottery. Now she can see family for first time in 8 years."
