CLIVE, Iowa — As the saying goes: good things come to those who wait, and that was the case for Brandon Richey of Dallas Center.

After waiting nearly a week after the drawing Richey finally checked his lottery tickets and discovered he had won the second-level prize of $25,000 a year for life in the Lucky for Life lottery game.

Richey told the lottery that he stopped to get coffee at a convenience store and while he was waiting for the coffee to brew he had one of the employees check his tickets. He said when the employee told him he had won he couldn’t believe it.

“I put it [the ticket] back in my billfold, paid for my coffee, and went to another convenience store to check it again,” he said. “It said the same thing.”

Richey’s ticket was the third ticket in three months to win a large prize. His ticket matched the first five numbers, but missed the Lucky Ball to win the second-level prize. The numbers for the December 15 Lucky for Life drawing were 9-12-22-36-45 and Lucky Ball 3.

Richey decided to take the lump sum option of $390,000, as opposed to the annual $25,000 payments. He said he plans to use the bulk of his winnings to invest in his future.

“I’m just going to pay off some bills and probably invest all of the rest,” he said. “I’m very grateful.”

The winning ticket was purchased at the Kum & Go in the 3100 block of Grand Prairie Parkway in Waukee. Kum & Go will receive a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

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