Newlyweds win big lottery prize — and husband’s smile was almost as big as wedding day
A recruiter for a construction company stopped for breakfast on her way to work, picked up an Iowa Lottery ticket and won the top prize — all before she made it to the office.
Reyna Serna-Garcia, 25, scratched off her Triple Red 777s ticket in the parking lot of her office, according to the Iowa Lottery. She said she was still in disbelief and shaking from adrenaline when she FaceTimed her husband, Salvador, to tell him the news. They’ve been married since May.
“He had the biggest smile on his face, close to the same smile I saw the day we got married,” Serna-Garcia said. “He was like, ‘You’re kidding! This is not true!’ Big old grin on his face.”
Serna-Garcia won the second top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s Triple Red 777s scratch game. She bought her winning ticket at a Filling Station location, according to the Iowa Lottery.
She said she and her husband have their priorities set. First, they’ll use the money to pay off her car, then pay off other debt. Finally, the newlyweds will use the remaining money for an anniversary vacation in May.
When Serna-Garcia picked up her winnings from the Iowa Lottery headquarters, she called the experience “very overwhelming.”
“Speechless, clueless, mindless, but in a great way,” she said.
Triple Red 777s is a $10 scratch game that features seven top prizes of $100,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.98, according to the Iowa Lottery. Serna-Garcia won the second of seven top prizes in this round.
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Newlyweds win big lottery prize — and husband’s smile was almost as big as wedding day."
