CLIVE, Iowa — A central Iowa man said he's most excited about one simple thing after winning $3 million: life without a mortgage payment.

Jaime Zavala of Norwalk claimed his Mega Millions® Tuesday at the Iowa Lottery's main office in Clive. His ticket matched the first five numbers in the Nov. 11 drawing and missed winning that night's $900 million jackpot by just one number.

A Navy veteran, Zavala bought his winning ticket for the Veterans Day drawing at Kwik Star, 1200 Chatham Ave. in Norwalk.

The winning numbers in the Nov. 11 drawing were 10-13-40-42-46 and Mega Ball 1. Zavala's ticket was just one of three in the country to win a prize of $3 million or more in that drawing. A ticket purchased in New York also won $3 million, while a ticket purchased in Arizona won $5 million.

Kwik Star received a $3,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $3 million-winning ticket.

In addition to paying off his home, Zavala said he plans to invest the bulk of his winnings and upgrade his ride, replacing his current 10-year-old pickup with more than 250,000 miles on it.

https://www.ialottery.com/Pages/Pressroom/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?winnerID=2096#:~:text=Jaime%20Zavala%20of%20Norwalk%20claimed,jackpot%20by%20just%20one%20number.