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Iowa Lottery
Marie Johnson-Fernandez won a $59,500 lottery prize earlier this month — and that's not even the most incredible part
The recent retiree previously won $26,500 from a Pick 4 game in April
Johnson-Fernandez plans to use her latest winnings to pay her bills and for a cruise trip
Lightning struck again for a lucky lottery player in Iowa.
Marie Johnson-Fernandez, of Williamsburg, played the Pick 4 lotto game and won a $59,500 prize earlier this month, according to Iowa Lottery officials.
Johnson-Fernandez “purchased multiple plays with different bet types and amounts, and won on each by matching all four numbers in the exact order drawn: 1-0-1-0,” officials wrote in a news release.
She purchased her tickets at Casey's store in Williamsburg and later checked the winning numbers online after the Oct. 10 drawing was held.
“I saw 1-0-1-0 and I'm like, ‘Wait a minute!' ” Johnson-Fernandez, who worked at a local school district until her retirement in May, told lottery officials. “I had to blink a few times. Then I got excited like I always do.”
Upon discovering that she won, Johnson-Fernandez called her husband at work, and then drove to the Iowa Lottery offices in Cedar Rapids to claim her winnings. She said she will use her newfound wealth to pay bills and for a cruise that she booked for 2026.
As if that wasn't exiting enough, Johnson-Fernandez’s latest lottery score came only six months after she won $26,500 from playing a Pick 4 game in April.
When it comes to the lottery, Johnson-Fernandez said she tries to stay calm, cool and collected.
“My whole system is to remain calm,” she told lottery officials. “I may scream out loud, but my whole thing is to not hyperventilate and pass out because I'm usually someplace by myself.”
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In the Pick 4 game, players have to choose four numbers from a matrix of 10 numbers (0 through 9) for each play through a variety of combinations, according to the Iowa Lottery.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or go to gamtalk.org.
Read the original article on People
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