Lottery player wins big jackpot on April Fools’ Day in Iowa. ‘No one believed me’

If you want your friends and family to believe your exciting news, you’ll probably want to wait until after April Fools’ Day to tell them.

That’s what Michael Burris recently learned after winning a jackpot prize, according to the Iowa Lottery.

Burris, of Clear Lake, said he stopped at a Casey’s convenience store to buy a breakfast pizza while on his way to a work job site. While there, the 59-year-old welder and pipefitter decided to buy a $5 Jumbo Bucks Progressive InstaPlay ticket.

He checked his ticket once at the site, according to a news release. Then he used a co-worker’s phone to double check his win with the Iowa Lottery mobile app.

Burris won the $48,053 jackpot, lottery officials said.

“No one believed me because it was April Fools’ Day,” he said when claiming his prize on April 3. “What a great day to win a lot of money, because no one’s going to believe you. It was awesome, just awesome.”

Burris and his wife plan to use the newfound cash to pay off a camper and save for retirement, which they hope to spend in Florida, according to the release.

The winning ticket was sold at a Casey’s in Nora Springs, about 130 miles northeast of Des Moines.

This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Lottery player wins big jackpot on April Fools’ Day in Iowa. ‘No one believed me’."