Retired cop woke up thinking he’d ‘hit the lottery sometime.’ He won big the same day

A retired police officer woke up with a hunch he’d win the lottery soon, but the 60-year-old from Iowa didn’t realize his fortune would come that day.

“I’m going to hit the lottery sometime,” Jody Matherly recalled saying as he woke up Monday, May 1, according to the Iowa lottery.

Matherly told lottery officials he “felt pretty good about” his lottery chances. But as Matherly went to try his luck at a Kwik Star convenience store, the ticket he planned on purchasing was sold out.

No worries — Matherly bought the $30 Premiere scratch-off ticket instead.

His second option ended up being a $30,000 winner.

“I just kind of took a swipe and I saw a lot of zeros and I went, ‘Well, this is a good one!’” Matherly said. “I scratched more, and holy cow, it stopped me in my tracks.”

Odds of winning the $30,000 prize are 1-in-23,973. The Premiere game offers a top prize of $300,000.

Matherly said he plans on saving his winnings, but anticipates “an extra trip or two to the golf course.”

“I suspect a couple friends will call and say, ‘Hey, let’s go golfing! You’re buying,’” Matherly told lottery officials “That might work once, but not too often.”

Matherly was previously the police chief in Iowa City. He was a law enforcement officer for more than 37 years before his retirement in 2020, according to Little Village Magazine.

This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Retired cop woke up thinking he’d ‘hit the lottery sometime.’ He won big the same day."