Mechanic realizes how much he won with lottery ticket. ‘My lips didn’t stop quivering’

A diesel mechanic was with a friend when he stopped at a convenience store and bought a handful of Iowa lottery tickets.

Zachary O’Neill, 34, checked his lottery tickets, but the first few weren’t winners, according to a news release from the Iowa Lottery.

“I was thinking I was done in for sure,” O’Neill recalled. But then he started scratching his $30 “Premiere” scratch game ticket.

That ticket was worth more than the man from Cumming could believe.

“The final number on the final column scratched off, and what do you know,” O’Neill said. “$300,000!”

He had won the game’s top prize, officials said.

“I couldn’t believe it, I was in so much shock,” O’Neill told lottery officials when claiming his prize. “My lips didn’t stop quivering for like three hours after I scratched it and realized what I had uncovered.”

The mechanic plans to buy himself a new vehicle and share some of his winnings with family, according to the release.

This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Mechanic realizes how much he won with lottery ticket. ‘My lips didn’t stop quivering’."