Waterloo woman shocked by significantly higher lottery prize

Another day, another woman from Waterloo winning a huge lottery prize.

Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to look at your lottery ticket a second, third or even fourth time. A Waterloo woman couldn’t believe her luck when she went to claim her small $3 prize earlier this month to find she’d be taking home some extra cash.

Jamie Tobar initially thought the ticket she had brought in a measly $3. She said she forgot to account for the bonus letters on her Bonus Crossword Scratch Ticket, according to Iowa Lottery Officials.

“I scanned it and didn’t believe it, so I kept scanning it,” Tobar explained.

Obviously, her husband didn’t believe her at first, but after looking at the numbers and checking the Iowa Lottery app himself, he finally believed she had won big.

Just add a few zeros to its original price of $3 and you’ve got its real reward…

$30,000!

“I thought the app was bothering me, but it was real,” she said.

Tobar bought the winning ticket at the self-service kiosk at Hy-Vee, 2834 Ansborough Avenue in Waterloo.

Tobar and her husband plan to use the $30,000 in very practical ways. The couple’s game plan is to use the prize money to pay for some of their bills and their three children.

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