Travel nurse thought she won $1,000 lottery prize over lunch. But she won much more

Travel nurse Renae Beeck was at a Casey’s convenience store for gas when she decided to buy a $30 Iowa lottery ticket “on a whim,” officials said.

She scratched her “Colossal Crossword” ticket over lunch and quickly realized she had won a prize, according to a news release from the Iowa Lottery. She just didn’t realize how much she had won.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, I think I won $1,000!’ And I was so excited,” Beeck, 39, of Hinton said when claiming her prize June 12. “Then I was like, ‘I think I won $10,000!’ I was counting them and I think I counted them probably a hundred times. Then I said, ‘No, I won $300,000!’”

Unsure if she could believe her eyes, Beeck scanned her ticket with Iowa Lottery’s mobile app.

Sure enough, she had won the game’s top prize worth $300,000.

“It’s just a feeling of shock,” Beeck said. “I think your mind just goes blank, you’re so excited. This is kind of a life-changing amount for me so I was very happy.”

Beeck called her husband, Nick, as soon as she confirmed her winnings, according to the release. They plan to save most of the money for retirement — but first they’re planning a trip.

“The first thing we’re going to do as a family is we’re going on vacation,” Beeck told lottery officials. “I’d like to go to Hawaii or somewhere fun.”

Hinton is in the northwest corner of Iowa.

This story was originally published June 13, 2023 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Travel nurse thought she won $1,000 lottery prize over lunch. But she won much more."