Travel nurse thought she won $1,000 lottery prize over lunch. But she won much more

Travel nurse Renae Beeck was at a Casey’s convenience store for gas when she decided to buy a $30 Iowa lottery ticket “on a whim,” officials said.

She scratched her “Colossal Crossword” ticket over lunch and quickly realized she had won a prize, according to a news release from the Iowa Lottery. She just didn’t realize how much she had won.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, I think I won $1,000!’ And I was so excited,” Beeck, 39, of Hinton said when claiming her prize June 12. “Then I was like, ‘I think I won $10,000!’ I was counting them and I think I counted them probably a hundred times. Then I said, ‘No, I won $300,000!’”

Unsure if she could believe her eyes, Beeck scanned her ticket with Iowa Lottery’s mobile app.

Sure enough, she had won the game’s top prize worth $300,000.

“It’s just a feeling of shock,” Beeck said. “I think your mind just goes blank, you’re so excited. This is kind of a life-changing amount for me so I was very happy.”

Beeck called her husband, Nick, as soon as she confirmed her winnings, according to the release. They plan to save most of the money for retirement — but first they’re planning a trip.

“The first thing we’re going to do as a family is we’re going on vacation,” Beeck told lottery officials. “I’d like to go to Hawaii or somewhere fun.”

Hinton is in the northwest corner of Iowa.