The next time Justin Strother of Davenport predicts something, people might pay attention. After all, he just predicted his own $500,000 lottery win.

“I work with two guys. I told them, just joking around, ‘I’m going to go buy one and I’m going to hit the top prize,’” Strother said Tuesday as he claimed the first of six top prizes of $500,000 that are available in the Iowa Lottery’s new “$500,000 Ca$h” scratch game. “I told them that for three days straight. And then I went and did it. I called them and I said, ‘You’re not going to believe me, but I hit the top prize.’”

Strother, age 33, is a self-employed flooring installer who bought his winning ticket at As Food and Gas, 2365 Rockingham Road in Davenport. He won in the game’s first week of sales. The $500,000 Ca$h game debuted on April 4.

Strother purchased his winning ticket at As Food and Gas, 2365 Rockingham Road in Davenport. He said he scanned the ticket on a self-checker at the store and then ran outside to his car, where his wife was waiting. 

“I got in the car and I said, ‘Kylie, go, go go! We’ve got to put this in the safe!’” he recalled. “She’s like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘I just won half a million dollars!’ She goes, ‘No you didn’t!’ So I pulled it up on the app and she goes, ‘Oh, my gosh!’”

Strother said he used the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app all day to prove he won. He told his mom the big news and she was so stunned, she didn’t follow the advice she gave him.

“I showed her the ticket. She’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ She didn’t even know what to do,” Strother said. “She even said, ‘don’t tell anybody.’ And then she told everybody.”

The $500,000 Ca$h game is a $50 scratch game that has prizes ranging from $50 to $500,000. Players try to match numbers in the playing area on tickets in the game to win a prize. The overall odds of winning are 1 in 3.09. For more information about this game and the number of prizes still available, click here (ialottery.com).

Strother said that he and his wife have big plans for their winnings, including a three-bedroom house for their family, a new truck and a camper. He called his win “a re-start button.” “It’s a re-start to life,” he said. “It’s going to be debt-free for sure!”

For more information on the Iowa Lottery, click here.