Couple’s lottery ritual has spanned decades — and it finally pays off. ‘Look at this!’

An Iowa couple is reaping the rewards of a lottery ticket ritual they have used for more than two decades.

Weekly for the past 22 years, Cary Maged and his wife have purchased tickets at a Hy-Vee in Des Moines and took them home, Iowa Lottery officials said.

There, the couple scratched off their tickets as they enjoyed “prepared cocktails, gourmet appetizers and a big meal.”

“Our method has been the same for 22 years,” Maged, 67, told lottery officials.

The couple stopped in their tracks when Maged’s wife scratched off a Lucky Roll ticket.

“She scratched it and just didn’t say anything and says, ‘You better look at this!’” Maged said. “I jumped up and looked at it and saw the ‘10’ with the comma, with the three zeros.”

They won one of the game’s seven jackpot prizes of $10,000.

Lucky Roll costs $2 to play. Odds of winning $10,000 are 1 in 126,000.

Maged said he and his wife, who are retired, plan to use their winnings for a future trip.

This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Couple’s lottery ritual has spanned decades — and it finally pays off. ‘Look at this!’."