Woman shows co-worker winning Iowa lottery ticket — and his ‘jaw drops’
An Iowa woman and her co-worker were left stunned when they saw how much her winning lottery ticket was worth.
Tonya Flenker, 49, bought the $10 “Hot Ticket Progressive” InstaPlay game while on break from her overnight work shift at Walmart, according to a news release from the Iowa Lottery.
After seeing the winning numbers, she ran back inside to show her co-worker the ticket.
“He gets his phone out and scans it, and his jaw drops. It’s like, ‘What?! I can’t believe it!’” she told lottery officials when claiming her prize June 18. “I thought I was going to pass out. It’s crazy.”
She won the game’s $52,838 jackpot, according to the lottery.
The game starts out with a $10,000 jackpot and continues to climb until it’s won.
Flenker said once the win was posted on social media by the Iowa Lottery, the cat was out of the bag.
“People saw the post on Facebook, and then everybody in town started sharing it, and it got around,” she said. “Some have it figured out, I think.”
She said she plans to invest her winnings.
“I’d like to invest it in some way, whether that’s putting it toward a little piece of property, or just do something to make some money and keep it going,” she said. “Something to have and look at and be proud of and watch it grow. I’m just not quite sure what yet.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Woman shows co-worker winning Iowa lottery ticket — and his ‘jaw drops’."
