A Washburn man was at a loss for words after winning a $250,000 prize.

Eric Schaefer of Washburn claimed the 13th of 18 top prizes of $250,000 available in the Iowa Lottery's "$250,000 Riches" scratch game.

"I don't even know how to feel right now because we typically don't run into that kind of money," Schaefer told lottery employees Tuesday, just a few hours after buying his winning ticket. "We're usually not very fortunate."

The 37-year-old said he bought his winning ticket at Pronto, 7305 La Porte Road in Washburn and joked with a store clerk about winning the lottery sometime. Schaefer, an inspector for Union Tank Car, said he continued onto work and scratched his ticket off in the parking lot of his workplace.

"I said, 'Ok. I'm just going to do it fast like a Band-Aid,''' he said. "I scratched it off really fast and it said '$250,000' and I couldn't believe it. I just kind of broke down – I was pretty emotional."

He said he plans to use his winnings to pay off his mortgage and some other bills to become debt-free.

The $250,000 Riches scratch game is a $20 ticket. More details about how to play this game, and number of prizes still up for grabs in it can be found on the Iowa Lottery's website, www.ialottery.com.

Courtesy: Iowa Lottery

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