Iowa Pastor Almost Loses $500K Lottery Ticket

I know that if I were lucky enough to win the lottery, I'd be so excited that I would somehow mess it up.

Maybe in the heat of the moment, I'd misread the prize I'd won.

Or, I would be so overwhelmed that I might even lose the ticket and never be able to claim my winnings.

That is what nearly happened to one Eastern Iowa man named Kevin Frey.

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Meet Kevin...

Kevin Frey is a 64-year-old pastor in New Hampton. Earlier this month, he dropped by the Casey's at 615 N. Linn Ave. in New Hampton and picked up a scratch lottery ticket, according to the Iowa Lottery officials.

This scratch game he played is called the $500,000 Ca$h game. It costs $50 to play and the prizes range anywhere between $50 to $500,000.

The goal of the game is to match numbers in the play area on tickets for a prize. According to the Iowa Lottery officials, the overall odds of winning the game are 1 in 3.09.

Frey beat the odds when he purchased his winning ticket and won himself $500,000.

So, How Did this Happen?

When he realized he had a winning ticket, he started freaking out.

Who wouldn't though?

"I was so excited and flustered that I left the ticket inside of the Casey's store and went out to the car and started calling everybody, calling my wife at first and everybody else," he said in an Iowa Lottery press release.

One of his children asked him to send a picture of the ticket over text. At that moment, he realized all of this excitement could be ripped away from him!

He left the ticket at the Casey's he bought it at!

Luckily, he was still in the parking lot, so he was able to quickly run back inside and asked for the ticket from the cashier.

"She was so flustered, she forgot to give it to me the first time. So, we finally got it on the right page," the pastor said.

What Are His Plans For His Winnings?

Frey and his wife have talked before about making the move out to Des Moines, according to a report from the Iowa Lottery.

This would happen after the couple retire, so they can be closer to family.

"It will be fun to be able to share some of it with some of our family and some of the charities that we support and have supported for a long time," Frey explained.

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