Davenport Veteran Claims His $1 Million Mega Millions Prize

About 22 days ago from the day that this article was written, we told you that a $1 million Mega Millions ticket was sold in Davenport. The Mega Millions prize of $1 million was won Friday, June 23rd with a ticket purchased at Smokin’ Joe’s, 3120 Rockingham Road in Davenport. The ticket came within one number of Friday’s $320 million jackpot, matching the first five numbers but missing the Mega Ball.

We now know who the mysterious winner is and he's a person who has served our country. He finally claimed his $1 million prize and he's going to get some work done around the house with the winnings.

Congrats to Hoogie on winning big with Mega Millions and the Iowa Lottery.

Davenport Veteran Is $1 Million Richer With Winning Lottery Ticket

In a press release on Tuesday, officials from the Iowa Lottery said that a Davenport man has claimed his $1 million winnings from the Mega Millions drawing back in June.

The Davenport veteran admits that his well-established history as someone who enjoys practical jokes worked against him when he tried to convince his three adult daughters that he really had won a $1 million Mega Millions prize.

Michael “Hoogie” Hoogerwerf  “I’m a bit of a prankster,” with a chuckle to Iowa Lottery officials on Monday when he claimed his prize at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. His daughters traveled with him Monday to help celebrate his win, but remained good-naturedly leery, even during their visit to the lottery.

Hoogerwerf bought his $1 million-winning ticket earlier in the current Mega Millions run. He won his prize in the Mega Millions drawing on June 23. His winnings were among four large lottery prizes won in Iowa during a five-day span in late June. Hoogerwerf’s ticket was the only one in the country to win a $1 million prize that night.

Hoogerwerf, 70, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said he learned about his big win the day after the drawing. He was on a charity motorcycle ride that day when his mobile phone rang. It was the manager of Smokin’ Joe’s (3120 Rockingham Road, Davenport) where he is a regular customer and bought his Mega Millions ticket. The Iowa Lottery had notified the store that it sold the $1 million-winning ticket, and the store manager thought that Hoogerwerf might be the one who bought it.

Hoogerwerf recalled that he had his ticket in his wallet, so he got it out to review it as the store manager read the winning numbers to him over the phone. He was indeed the $1 million winner. Hoogerwerf said

“And then she about passed out, I think. She was more excited than I was. I just kind of took it in stride. Apparently though, on the ride home, our ride was done at that point, so we left the group and went on home. And I did release the handlebar and do a fist pump -- twice.”

Smokin’ Joe’s will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.

Hoogie's Plans With His $1 Million Winnings

Hoogerwerf told the Iowa Lottery that after he realized he won a big prize, he took some time to talk with an accountant and a lawyer before stepping forward to claim his winnings. But he also talked with contractors about work on his house.

He told the Iowa Lottery, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that. The first thing is, the homestead is getting a facelift. And then there will be some investments.” The one item in particular on his wish list is electricity to his garage.

Powerball and Mega Millions are both lotto games with jackpot prizes that have topped $1 billion. Powerball's estimated jackpot for Wednesday's drawing is $1 billion. But while Powerball's drawings are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, Mega Millions drawings are on Tuesdays and Fridays.