Keokuk County man wins $30,000 lottery prize

KEOTA — A Keokuk County man who won a $30,000 lottery prize at first thought his prize was much smaller.

“Initially, (I) thought I won $3,000,” Gerald Dietze told officials on Thursday as he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Clive. “I was like, ‘OK, that’s nice. Fine. Dandy.’ When I found out I won the $30,000, I almost had another heart attack.”

Dietze, 55, of Keota won the 43rd prize of $30,000 in the Iowa Lottery’s “Win Big” scratch game. He stopped at BP, 805 E. Jackson St. in Sigourney, to pick up dinner, and while waiting, asked a store employee to sell him a ticket in the $30 game.

“It just happened to suit me that day, I don’t know why,” he said. “I just felt lucky and I told him, ‘Give me one of the big ones.’ And he did.”

Dietze said he scratched to reveal the ticket’s QR code, then handed it back to the employee to have him check it on the lottery terminal.

“I thought I won $3,000 right off the bat because I had my sunglasses on,” he said. “And he said, ‘You need to look again.’ I pulled my sunglasses down and I couldn’t believe I won $30,000.”

He said his big win comes at a great time.

“Actually, right now we’re right in the middle of remodeling our house, so this will help go a long way with it,” he said. “It was perfect timing.”