Wiley Tuley is a lucky, lucky man.
The retired electronics technician from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, won $200,000 in Thursday's evening drawing of the Iowa Lottery's Pick 4 game.
Tuley actually won the game multiple times in the single drawing, which was why his prize was so large. He bought 14 tickets, with three plays per ticket. He played different combinations of the same four numbers — 1, 9, 4, 3, his birth year — for each of the plays. Those four numbers were all winners, which means he won a total of 42 times.
"In all the years I have worked at the lottery I don't recall anyone winning this many prizes totaling that amount in a Pick 4 drawing," Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer said.
Pick 4 players can spend different amounts to increase their odds of winning. For example, players can play "straight" or "box" — a "straight" ticket means the numbers the player picks must match in the exact order they are drawn. A more expensive ticket lets players match numbers in any order. There are also combinations of straight and box combinations to choose from.
Because of the way the game works, the odds of winning are greater than for many other Iowa Lottery games like Mega Millions or Powerball, Neubauer said, though the prizes are also smaller.
Tuley purchased seven of the winning tickets from Hy-Vee, 20 Wilson Ave. SW and then went across the street to purchase the other seven at Hy-Vee Gas, 2300 Bowling St. SW.
Tuley, 70, said his wife didn't believe him when he told her he'd won.
"Her jaw dropped," he said. "She said, 'You're kidding me.'"
He said he has a few ideas for how to spend his winnings but wants to keep them to himself for now. He said winning feels pretty good.
"It feels great, actually," he said.
Tuley has won the Pick 4 game twice before. In July 2009, he won $24,000 in one drawing, and he won twice in 2010, with a total of $9,125 in prizes from two drawings.
"It's one of the luckiest stories we've ever heard," Neubauer said.
Not too shabby!
Almost as good as that other Pick 4 stalwart:
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/262156
Congrats. Compared to the $425M PB jackpot...........yawn
I would buy a new car with that bread. Congrats Mr. Wiley Tuley. That's some amazing faith in your numbers. Very inspiring.
It looks like a couple of serious players and not the same as a one time $40 on a hunch.
Hunch or not, anyone spending that kind of money on a pick4 game is serious.
Congrats!!
Most people won't see it that way. Sad.
It's an awful lot compared to what most of us won last week.
Sweet!
Good Lord I wonder how much that cost him over the years? Pick 4 is everyday in my state so if he had been doing that everyday for years he might have just broke even LOL
Great Job, hope he does it again!
Congratulations Mr Wiley Tuley
Congrats to the lucky winner. I alwas play pick 4 numbers that start with 19XX. When they come the lottery pays out alot of money because people usually play their birth year or a family member birth year.
There ya go Win just lay down $20 on it when you know it is gonna be sure thang