Lottery player — now cancer-free — says Iowa win ended his ‘bad-luck streak’
One Iowa lottery player said he isn’t used to winning, but he took his chances anyway with a $10 lottery ticket.
From cancer to a broken hip, Bret Chickering of Iowa has had a “bad-luck streak” for years, he told lottery officials.
“I went through cancer, I’m three years cancer-free now,” he said, according to lottery officials. “I fell a year or so ago and broke my hip, had a hip replacement. And the radiation from cancer took all my teeth and that cost me a lot.”
Now, the 66-year-old said his $100,000 lottery win changed his luck, according to Iowa Lottery’s May 7 news release.
“I don’t usually have that good of luck!” he told officials. “This helps a lot.”
Chickering recently claimed the winnings of his “20X” scratch off ticket and plans to save the money. He wants to continue working at a manufacturing plant, he told officials.
The ticket was purchased at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Harlan.
Harlan is about a 100-mile drive west from Des Moines.
This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Lottery player — now cancer-free — says Iowa win ended his ‘bad-luck streak’."
