A Dixon man has two numbers that stood out to him, eight and 18, as he counted laps while swimming, to thank for helping him snag the top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s Crazy 8s scratch game.

Marty Curry, 66, bought a lottery ticket after his workout, using those two numbers, and won $18,888. “I never buy lottery tickets, but I told myself that I was going to go across the street to Hy-Vee, and if they had any lottery tickets that had the number eight, I’m going to buy them,” Curry said as he claimed his prize at the lottery’s Cedar Rapids regional office. “For some reason, that eight and 18 clicked in my mind, and that’s exactly what I won: $18,888.”

Curry bought a handful of tickets in the $2 game at Hy-Vee in Eldridge and scratched them off when he got home. His final ticket was the big winner. “It was just me, my two dogs and the cat, and I told them, ‘You guys are going to get all the treats you want!’” Curry said. “It was like I just couldn’t believe it; it was almost a dream. I was staring at it, and then I stared at the number again. I stared at it, and then I just started crying.”

Curry, a retired truck driver, said plans are to share his winnings with his children and grandchildren. “Not only can I help myself, I’m going to definitely help other people,” Curry said.

Crazy 8s is a $2 scratch game that features six top prizes of $18,888 and has overall odds of 1 in 3.82. For more information, click here.