Sticking to his habits, days passed after the Dec. 15 Lucky for Life drawing as Richey unknowingly walked around with the winning ticket in his wallet, the Iowa Lottery said in a Jan. 6 news release.

However, the extra ticket was part of the Let it Snow promotion that “awarded players at random a free FAST PLAY ticket in December after Pick 3/4/5 purchases,” lottery officials said. While her Pick 3 ticket wasn’t a winner, it was a different story when she checked her free $5 Merry Money Match ticket.

A lottery player couldn’t help but be stunned over his huge lottery win in Iowa — especially after initially thinking he won a much smaller prize. Adam Simons, of Ackley, now has big plans for his winnings after uncovering a jackpot prize on New Year’s Day, he told Iowa Lottery officials.