The Cedar Valley Gets Another Lottery Winner

The Cedar Valley keeps winning the scratch off lottery. We have another lottery winner as a Waterloo woman kept her promise of winning the lottery.

Sandra Grady, 52, said she regularly played Bingo scratch games with her late mother-in-law before she passed away last fall. One of the last things Grady told her mother-in-law was that she was going to win the game’s $25,000 top prize someday.

“Me and her always used to play Bingo all the time,” Grady told lottery employees Monday as she claimed her prize at the lottery’s regional office in Cedar Rapids. “And I think before she passed away she won $500 and I told her, ‘Well, I’m going to win $25,000!’”

And Grady did just that, claiming the sixth of 29 top prizes of $25,000 available in the Iowa Lottery’s “Bonus Ball Bingo” scratch game.

Grady bought her winning ticket Monday at Prime Mart, 3535 Marigold Drive in Waterloo while picking up some things for her daughter.

When she scratched off her ticket and found out that she won the game’s top prize, Grady said she took a photo of her winning ticket right away.

“So I could have my daughter check to make sure it was real; make sure I didn’t miss a number,” she said.

After her daughter confirmed her lottery win, Grady said she called her husband at work to share her news with him.

“He was a bit hesitant until he actually saw the ticket (when he got home),” she said. “But I don’t think he still believes it until we get back to Waterloo with the check.”

Grady said she plans to use a portion of her winnings to pay bills and save the rest.

Bonus Ball Bingo is a $2 scratch game. 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.