72-year-old always promised his wife they’d be lucky someday. He just won the lottery
_fitted.png "The man won the top prize on a “$100,000 Mega Crossword” scratch-off ticket.")
“I just always tell my wife, someday we’ll be lucky,” Walter Wood told Iowa lottery officials.
For the 72-year-old Sumner man and his wife, “someday” is here, according to a March 7 news release from the Iowa Lottery.
While playing a “$100,000 Mega Crossword” scratch-off game that he bought for $10, Wood said he knew he’d won something based on how many completed words he revealed on his ticket, according to lottery officials.
“I knew I was a $40 winner for sure,” the winner said, per the release.
But when he checked the ticket on his phone, he realized he’d won the game’s top prize of $100,000, officials said.
The rock quarry employee told lottery officials his prize will make his eventual retirement more comfortable, according to the release.
Wood bought his winning ticket at Dollar Fresh Market in Oelwein.
Olewein is about a 55-mile drive north from Cedar Rapids.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 1:57 PM with the headline "72-year-old always promised his wife they’d be lucky someday. He just won the lottery."
