Two-person lottery office pool uses $2 winnings to win big prize. ‘Oh, my goodness!’

A lottery office pool at the U.S. Department of Agriculture has had members pitching in over the years in their attempts to win big.

Now with just two members in the pool, one even admitted he “wanted to stop several times,” according to Iowa Lottery officials. His co-member wouldn’t let him.

“Yeah, we had to keep rolling,” Colton Snyder said.

Snyder’s patience paid off for him and Randy Ferriss, and the pair finally won big. Iowa Lottery officials announced in a Thursday, April 20, news release that the two 52-year-olds were $1 million winners of the latest Mega Millions drawing.

Calling themselves “the world’s tiniest lottery office pool,” the two members turned a $2 winner into the million-dollar prize.

They purchased the ticket at a Casey’s convenience store in Nevada, Iowa, ahead of Tuesday’s drawing. The ticket matched the winning numbers 7-9-15-19-25, missing out on the Mega Ball number 4.

One of their coworkers alerted them that a $1 million prize had been won in Iowa.

“One of the guys got a notification, it popped up on his phone,” Snyder said. “And he said, ‘Oh, my goodness! There was a $1 million winner, and the ticket was sold at Casey’s in Nevada.’ And I said, ‘Wow! That’s where Randy buys our tickets! I wonder if it could be us?’”

Ferriss said he went to two stores — as well as online — to verify their winnings.

“It’s one of those stories where you’re not really sure,” he said.

Ferriss said he and his wife will pay off their house with their winnings, and Snyder said he and his wife discussed doing small home improvement projects.

Their office pool with continue, albeit with a small break.

“I did check with Colton this morning to see if he wanted to let this ride and buy more tickets with it, but he said no,” Ferriss said.

This story was originally published April 21, 2023 at 5:40 AM with the headline "Two-person lottery office pool uses $2 winnings to win big prize. ‘Oh, my goodness!’."