A gas station clerk randomly picked an Iowa woman's lottery scratch-off ticket and helped her win $100,000
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- An Iowa woman won $100,000 from a lottery scratch-off.
- Shelley Nicholson told lottery officials that a gas station clerk chose her game.
- The lucky winner collected her check last week.
An Iowa woman allowed a gas station clerk to randomly pick her $10 lottery scratch-off game, which ultimately resulted in her winning $100,000.
Shelley Nicholson, 37, of Hampton, purchased the "$100,000 Mega Crossword" ticket from a local gas station, according to a press release from the Iowa Lottery.
Nicholson, an McDonald's manager who regularly plays the lottery, told officials that she asked the employee at the store to select her lottery game.
"I told the guy at the store, 'Pick whatever game you want," Nicholson said, according to lottery officials. "He picked that one."
Nicholson didn't expect to win the game so when she started scratching the numbers she became skeptical when it looked like she won, the press release said.
—Iowa Lottery (@ialottery) April 21, 2023
"When I kept scratching and realized I got six on the red ones, I was like, 'Um. I don't think this is right,'" she added, according to the press release.
Nicholson collected her prize from the lottery office last Thursday. She told lottery officials she knows what she plans to do with her new fortune but didn't reveal what that was.
Lottery winners have notably used their prize money to pay off medical bills, student loan debt, and mortgage payments. Others have splurged on properties, lavish vacations, and cosmetic surgeries.