Waterloo Man Goes Out For Lunch, Comes Back with $50K

This has been a great year so far for people in the Cedar Valley when it comes to winning big with the Iowa Lottery. Since April there have been about five lottery winners in the Cedar Valley. And that number keeps growing.

Get our free mobile app

In early Spring, one Waterloo woman won $100,000 after playing the lottery. Not even a full week later, yet another woman in Waterloo took home the big cash prize of $30,000. By the end of April, a third Waterloo woman had claimed a $20,000 payout. In total, $150,000 went directly into the pockets of several Cedar Valley residents. Another Waterloo man sweetened up the pot by winning another $100,000 in April.

You thought Waterloo had the only big winners? Think again!

A LaPorte City won big with the Iowa Lottery this week. Ann Haraldson got very lucky when she played the state lottery scratch game "Bonus Crossword" and won $30,000. This winning ticket that she bought came from the Kwik tar on 841 South Street in Jesup.

These winners from Northeast Iowa are really wracking up money. A new winner from Waterloo is adding another few thousand to the count.

On Friday afternoon, when a lot of us were returning from our lunchbreaks, Mr. Charles Jones of Waterloo was skipping out early. He had a good reason though. Jones had won $50,000.

When he went to the Cedar Rapids regional office to claim his prize, officials say he couldn't hide his glee.

"I'm overwhelmed. It still feels surreal," Jones said.

The Waterloo resident bought several scratch off tickets at the HyVee on Logan Avenue in Waterloo last week during his lunch break, according to lottery officials.

"Then I went back to see what the prize was, and I was just – I couldn't believe that I hit the max," he said.

Jones plans to use his winnings to pay his bills and retire some of his debt.