‘What the hay?’ Man impulsively buys Iowa lottery ticket — wins his biggest prize yet

David Kruger was in line at a Kwik Star convenience store when he saw the man in front of him buy a $30 lottery ticket.

“And I’m like, ‘What the hay? I’ll buy the next one,’” he recently recalled to Iowa Lottery officials.

That impulsive decision paid off.

While the 47-year-old man was waiting on his laundry at a laundromat, he used the Iowa Lottery mobile app to scan his “Colossal Crossword” scratch game ticket, according to a news release.

“When it showed he won $10,000, he didn’t believe his eyes and scanned it a few more times just to make sure,” lottery officials said in the release.

Kruger said he has scored a $500 prize “a few times,” but he’s never won as much as $10,000.

“It was kind of a sigh of relief, because in June I’m getting a hip replacement surgery,” he said when claiming his prize on March 6.

Kruger bought his winning lottery ticket in Charles City, about 150 miles northeast of Des Moines.