Montrose woman claims $30,000 lottery prize

CLIVE, Iowa – A southeast Iowa woman said she didn’t know how to react last week after finding out she won a big lottery prize.

Juliene Spiker of Montrose claimed the 11th of 42 prizes of $30,000 available in the Iowa Lottery’s “Ultimate Riches” scratch game.

Spiker said she bought her ticket Thursday at Fort Madison Fast Break, 5002 Avenue O in Fort Madison and played it right away. She ended up winning 15 prizes of $2,000 each, for a total of $30,000.

“When I was scratching it off (I said), ‘That key doesn’t match; It can’t match, it’s $2,000,’” Spiker told lottery employees Friday as she claimed her prize at the lottery’s regional office in Cedar Rapids. “And then I kept scratching and (14) others match. It’s like, ‘They really don’t match – yes, they do! They do match!’”

The 51-year-old said she was still inside the store when she scratched off her ticket and found out she’d won, but she didn’t say anything because she was in disbelief.

“I never yelled. I never screamed,” she said. “I knew they matched, but it was unreal. It was a dream; there was no way they could match.”

Spiker said she plans to use a majority of her winnings to remodel her house, pay bills, and save the rest.

Ultimate Riches is the Iowa Lottery’s first-ever $30 scratch game. More details about how to play this game, and number of prizes still up for grabs in it can be found on the Iowa Lottery’s website, www.ialottery.com.