Lincoln man wins big in Missouri Lotto

Bryan Bock and his girlfriend Joyce Schokker were awarded a mock check for the
$5.7 million dollars they won in the Missouri Lotto, of which Bock is pointing out
during the press conference in front of the Casey's store in Versailles, Mo., where he
bought the ticket.
Bryan Bock and his girlfriend Joyce Schokker were awarded a mock check for the $5.7 million dollars they won in the Missouri Lotto, of which Bock is pointing out during the press conference in front of the Casey's store in Versailles, Mo., where he bought the ticket.

Bryan Bock and his girlfriend, Joyce Schokker, were just like everyone else in Missouri, trying to make a living and keep bills paid while running their cattle farm in Lincoln and Bock Auto Sales in Versailles.

Last Saturday was nothing out of the ordinary for Bock and Schokker when they decided to go to Casey's General Store in Versailles for some ice cream and $100 in lottery tickets after buying cows at the sale barn.

Unlike everyone else, Aug. 9 didn't turn out quite so ordinary when Bock and Schokker discovered they won $5.7 million in the Missouri Lotto.

Bock said he and Schokker went to Cano's Country Store in Lincoln on Sunday morning to check the tickets he bought the night before.

"We checked the tickets. We got down to the last ticket and we got a big ol' gigantic surprise. We hit it," Bock recalled with excitement.

"We weren't sure if it was real or not," he said.

"We sat down, drank a Coke. ...We checked the ticket 15 or 20 times, and it came back the same way," Bock said. "We are just tickled to death."

Bock said they play the lottery regularly and have developed a certain way of playing.

In total, Bock had $200 worth of Quick Pick tickets for the $5.7 million Lotto drawing, according to Misouri Lottery officials.

Bock told them when the lottery gets to a certain point, he plays heavier.

"Saturday night, before we went home, after we went to the sale barn ... I said, "I'm going to go get another $100 worth of tickets. It's up there,"' he said.

The two have no plans for the money except to get out of debt and buy Schokker a new truck.

According to a Missouri Lottery news release, Bock has opted for the lump sum of $2.85 million and plans to pay everything off.

Bock reaffirmed that plan during an Aug. 20 Missouri Lottery press conference at the Versailles Casey's store, which receives a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning Lotto jackpot ticket.

"We are going to go right to the bank and pay our debts off," Bock said.

As for their life being different, Bock says it won't.

"We are still Bryan Bock and Joyce Schokker," he assured. "It will just be a little easier and not so stressful. ... We will be debt-free but just the same people trying to make a living."

Lotto is a twice-weekly Draw Game with jackpots that start at $1 million. As the longest-running Missouri Lottery game, Lotto has created 230 millionaires. Players get two plays for $1, and drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday nights. For more information, go to mo.lottery.com.