Iowa man wins $1 million in lottery after cashier made 'mistake'

Buster will take home $710,000 after taxes

An Iowa man says that a cashier's "mistake" led to him winning $1 million in the Iowa Mega Millions lottery.

Josh Buster, 40, said that when he asked a West Burlington convenience store clerk for five easy-pick plays for Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, he initially received only one play from the lottery terminal.

The clerk then asked Buster if the four other plays could be issued on a separate ticket.

"I feel like that changed the numbers that I would have gotten if he had put them all on one instead of making that mistake," Buster said.

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Josh Buster

Josh Buster, 40, said that when he asked a West Burlington convenience store clerk for five easy-pick plays for Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, he initially received only one play from the lottery terminal. (Iowa Lottery / Fox News)

Buster said that he thought the whole thing was a mistake and had to Google the lottery numbers for himself after scanning the tickets on an app.

"I don't usually have good luck, so I thought it was a mistake and there was going to be an error," he said. "So I Googled the lottery numbers to make sure I had the right ones, and I did! And then the rest of the day, I'm just waiting to wake up from a dream."

UNCLAIMED WINNING POWERBALL TICKET WORTH $150,000 IS ABOUT TO EXPIRE

Powerball and Mega Millions lottery tickets are displayed on January 3, 2018 in San Anselmo, California.

Powerball and Mega Millions lottery tickets are displayed on January 3, 2018 in San Anselmo, California.  ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Buster works as a prep chef at a Burlington, Iowa restaurant, and said that he's going to use the lottery winnings to pay off his car and his mother's mortgage, then put the rest in a retirement fund. 

"It will take away a lot of my stress in my life -- no more of the financial worries," he said.

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Mega Millions

A customer purchases a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a 7-Eleven store in the Loop on January 22, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. ((Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

He came one number away from having a share of Friday's $20 million jackpot, but missed the Mega Ball.

After taxes, Buster will take home $710,000, according to the Iowa Lottery.