Iowa Gas Station Employee Wins $30K Lottery

A 34-year-old Iowa woman is celebrating a life-changing lottery win, allowing her to reunite with family she hasn’t seen in eight years.

Samantha Poulson, a gas station employee from Algona, Iowa, struck gold with a “$30,000 Crossword” scratch-off ticket, securing the game’s top prize, according to a Feb. 17 announcement from the Iowa Lottery.

Poulson recalled the moment she realized her ticket had more completed words than usual. “I knew I had won something, but I didn’t think it was that much,” she said. “I’m still in shock.”

She purchased the $3 ticket at a One Stop Shop in Algona—ironically, not the gas station where she works.

Now, with her $30,000 prize, Poulson’s first priority is booking a trip to New Hampshire to finally reconnect with her loved ones.

Algona is located about 135 miles north of Des Moines.