Husband wakes wife to tell her about his Iowa lottery win. ‘I heard her scream’

A 50-year-old man in Iowa bought a Lotto America ticket at a Kum & Go convenience store, but waited until he was at work to check if he was a winner.

Once at work on Tuesday, Feb. 14, Aaron McDermott checked his numbers to see if he won a prize during the Monday night drawing, according to a news release from the Iowa Lottery.

“He was so surprised, he started shaking,” according to lottery officials.

McDermott, of Altoona, matched the five white balls with numbers 2-17-21-22-26 — earning him a $20,000 Lotto America prize.

His wife soon received “an early-morning wakeup call” with the good news.

“She was still in bed when I called,” McDermott told lottery officials. “I heard her scream, ‘You won what?’ I said, ‘Yeah!’”

McDermott left the winning ticket in a lanyard around his next for the rest of his work day, then went to claim his prize, according to the release.

He plans to use the prize money to buy a new bed and pay bills, officials said.

Altoona is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area.

This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Husband wakes wife to tell her about his Iowa lottery win. ‘I heard her scream’."