DES MOINES, Iowa - An Ackley woman and a Cedar Rapids man are heading to Las Vegas as winners of the Iowa Lottery's “Fly with Cy™ Game Day Getaway” promotion.

Pamela Shugar of Ackley and Paul Sundell of Cedar Rapids were selected by the Iowa Lottery as the grand prize winners of all-expense paid trips to Las Vegas to see the Iowa State Cyclones play Nevada-Las Vegas on Sept. 20. The lottery drawing was held Saturday in Ames just before the Kent St.-Iowa St. football game at Jack Trice Stadium.

Shugar held pictures of her three granddaughters throughout Saturday's drawing and said they brought her good fortune.

“They're my good luck charms,” she said with a laugh.

Shugar said that after the weather-related hardships that have impacted Iowa this year, she is looking forward to a getaway in Las Vegas.

“We're due for a vacation, so it's wonderful,“ she said. Sundell said he is a big Iowa State fan and that led him to enter the lottery's promotion.

“I heard it on the radio one morning and I was getting some gas, so I started buying a few tickets and now I'm going to Las Vegas!” he said.

Sundell said that his only trip to Las Vegas had been years ago when he visited there with his parents.

“I haven't been to Vegas for a long time,” he said. “I've heard wonderful things about it, so I'm looking forward to enjoying it. And of course being able to go to the game is awesome also.”

Shugar and Sundell each will receive two tickets to the Iowa St.-Nevada-Las Vegas football game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 20, as well as round-trip airfare for two from Des Moines to Las Vegas on Allegiant Airlines, hotel accommodations for three nights at The Paris Las Vegas, round-trip ground transportation to the game and $500 in spending cash. All state withholding taxes will be paid by the Iowa Lottery.

The other semifinalists in Saturday’s drawing were:

Jeremy Dea of Shelby
Thomas Debner of Swisher
Ron Johnson of Perry
Michaelene Macke of Clinton
Robbin Morton of Des Moines
Kevin Nelson of Bayard
Dave Phelps of Muscatine
and Jennifer Wittstock of Norwalk.

Each semifinalist in the drawing received four tickets to the Kent St.-Iowa St. football game. Semifinalists were eliminated one by one in a “reverse drawing,” meaning the last two names in the drawing drum won the trips to Las Vegas.