Lottery winner drives truck with 849,000 miles to claim prize — and plans to trade in
A lottery winner drove his old, “loud, red and rusty” pickup truck with 849,000 miles on it through a snowstorm to claim his prize — which he’ll use to upgrade his ride.
And while he’s excited to get some new wheels, it will also be “bittersweet to part with a vehicle that has served him well,” lottery officials said in a news release.
He calls the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban “a beater, but hey, it’s done pretty good,” Daniel Bragg told officials as he claimed his prize on Thursday, Jan. 2. A photo shows him posing beside his beloved old truck.
The 46-year-old from Newton scratched the ticket on New Year’s Eve, realized he’d won the $150,000 top prize and immediately thought: “I’ve got to get a car, got to get a car,” Bragg said.
He plans to buy a newer small pickup truck with his winnings.
“Oh, it’ll be a major upgrade. This vehicle, though, can still pull anything,” he said. “They said they built these like a tank, and yeah, it’s a tank!”
Bragg won the top prize in the $10 “Money Gift” scratch game, and now there’s one $150,000 top prize left. Overall odds of winning are 1 in 2.83, officials said.
The game is one of nine scratch and InstaPlay games in the Iowa lottery’s “Cash Prizes are Coming to Town” holiday promotion, officials said.
“From now until 9:59 a.m. on Jan. 8, members of the lottery’s VIP club can enter nonwinning holiday tickets for a chance at winning a share of more than $1 million in cash prizes,” officials said.