#Socialites, how would you react if you bought a winning lottery ticket and became so excited that you left the ticket inside the store? Well, that’s what happened to a 64-year-old flustered pastor in Iowa after winning the lotto jackpot — he left the store without his lottery ticket!
RELATED: $340 Million Nightmare: Man Sues Lottery After “Winning” Ticket Declared An Error
A New Hampton, Iowa man named Kevin Frey, who is a longtime pastor, nearly missed out on his $500,000 payday after becoming a little too excited about his winning lottery ticket! It’s reported that on Saturday (February 17), Frey hit the jackpot from a $50 scratch-off game called $500,000 Ca$h. He became so elated that he quickly exited the store, leaving behind his winning ticket.
According to the Iowa Lottery, The $500,000 Ca$h game is a $50 scratch game that features prizes ranging from $50 up to $500,000. Players try to match numbers in the play area on tickets in the game to win a prize. The game’s overall odds of winning is 1 in 3.09.
RELATED: Lottery Winner Loses Prize After Accidentally Sharing Pic Of Scratch Off On Social Media
Speaking with Iowa Lottery officials, the flustered pastor recalled how quickly things went down. He said, “I was pretty shaky on Saturday but in a good way.” He said that before his win, he stopped at his local Casey’s store to buy a bottle of pop, which he calls his “fix for the day,” explaining that he doesn’t drink coffee so he gets his caffeine from his doses of Pepsi Zero.
He said when he approached the counter, he saw the lottery tickets on display and figured he should go ahead and play something for the day. Upon scratching off one of the tickets, he gave it to the employee at the store to see if he’d won anything and he said the machine printed out a form for him to fill out, along with his receipt.
RELATED: Mega-Millions Lottery Winner Sues The Mother Of His Child For Telling Family About His $500M Payout
Frey said, “I started counting zeros, ’cause at first I thought it was $50,000, and then I counted again and I said, ‘I think that’s $500,000.’ So, I counted the zeros again for a third time. Then, I gave it to the employee and she counted and she said, ‘You’re right.’ It was pretty fun.”
After learning that he won, the flustered pastor unknowingly left the store without his lottery ticket. In fact, if it weren’t for him wanting to show off the ticket to his son, he would’ve never learned about the mishap. He said, “I was so excited and flustered that I left the ticket inside of the Casey’s store and went out to the car and started calling everybody, calling my wife at first and everybody else.”
The flustered pastor recalled that one of his adult children, his oldest son who lives in Des Moines, then asked him to text a photo of the winning lottery ticket, and that’s when he realized he left it in the store. He said, “And then I realized, ‘I don’t have it! It’s in the store!’ Fortunately, I was still in the parking lot of the Casey’s store and I ran back inside and asked the employee for the ticket. She was so flustered. She forgot to give it to me the first time. So, we finally got it on the right page.”
As for what Frey plans on doing with his lottery winnings, he explained that he and his wife, Marian, have been thinking about moving to the Des Moines area once they retire to be closer to family. Fortunately, with the help of his new earnings, the couple will be able to move and complete other long-term plans and investments.
Frey shared, “This is going to help a lot. This is exciting in that way, too. It will be fun to be able to share some of it with some of our family and some of the charities that we support and have supported for a long time.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!
View this post on Instagram