Retiree meets friends at bar immediately after huge lottery win. ‘Don’t tell anybody’
An Iowa man said the first thing he did after learning he’d won a jackpot lottery prize was meet with his friends — and swear them to secrecy, lottery officials said.
Ronald Tate, 71, of Runnells said he wanted to keep his major win a secret for a while, according to an Oct. 16 news release from the Iowa Lottery.
Tate said after revealing the huge prize on his scratch-off ticket, he immediately met with his friends at a local bar.
“I said, ‘Now if I show you this, don’t tell anybody,’” before giving them a peek at his ticket with a $500,000 prize, according to the release.
His was the last top prize of the “$500,000 CA$H” game, according to the release.
The Polk County retiree said this prize means he doesn’t have to “worry about anything,” according to lottery officials.
“I’m old enough now that there will be some left over for the girls,” the man said, speaking of his two adult daughters. “That’s all I care about.”
Tate purchased his winning ticket at the Casey’s convenience store in Runnells, officials said.
Runnells is about a 20-mile drive southeast from downtown Des Moines.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Retiree meets friends at bar immediately after huge lottery win. ‘Don’t tell anybody’."
