‘Prankster’ wasn’t kidding when he told parents he won the lottery. ‘I am so serious!’

A self-proclaimed prankster, Hunter Rodibaugh had to do some convincing when he told his parents he won a big lottery prize.

Rodibaugh, a car salesman from Cedar Rapids, had just won $50,000 playing the Iowa Lottery’s Monopoly game when he called his parents.

“They called me back and were like, ‘Are you kidding? Are you messing with us?’ Because I’m a prankster. I like to do jokes and stuff, so they didn’t know if I was messing with them or not,” he told Iowa Lottery officials. “I was like, ‘No, guys, I am so serious! I scanned it with my Iowa Lottery mobile app and it says I won 50 grand!’”

The 23-year-old man won the prize while buying two sodas, the lottery said in a news release.

When the store clerk asked if there was anything else he wanted, he took a brief look at the lottery tickets.

“I just looked over and said the first card that popped into mind. I was like, ‘Yeah, give me No. 13,’ which was the Monopoly,” he said.

He picked well, winning the game’s second $50,000 jackpot. Odds of hitting the jackpot in the $5 game are 1-in-125,790.

Rodibaugh said winning the jackpot “was probably the coolest moment I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

With his winnings, Rodibaugh plans on paying off his student loans and buying golf clubs. He also plans to set some money aside for an emergency fund.

This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 12:20 PM with the headline "‘Prankster’ wasn’t kidding when he told parents he won the lottery. ‘I am so serious!’."