Eastern Iowa Woman Scratches off $30,000 Prize During Lunch Break
Carla Coffman Claims Top Prize in 'Peppermint Crossword' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa — A routine stop for a pop led to a $30,000 payday for an eastern Iowa woman.
Carla Coffman, 58, of Buffalo, won the first top prize in the Iowa Lottery's “Peppermint Crossword” scratch game. She bought a trio of tickets at Kwik Star, 3510 Belmont Road in Bettendorf, and brought them to the home of a care patient she serves. After lunch, she, her patient, and a friend each scratched a ticket, never imagining one of them would be a big winner.
In the game, players try to complete a set of words with a given set of letters. The more words completed, the bigger the prize. Completing 10 words on the ticket is worth $30,000.
Coffman said she noticed she was getting more words than usual, and once she reached the $30-prize level, had a good feeling about her ticket.
“After it hit six, I knew it had to be all 10,” she said with a laugh on Friday as she claimed her prize at the lottery's Cedar Rapids regional office.
After scratching off the 10th word, she handed the ticket to her friend, who confirmed the win by scanning it with the Iowa Lottery mobile app.
Coffman said she plans to put her winnings toward home improvements, including a new furnace, and ensuring she and her family have a “great Christmas this year.”
Peppermint Crossword is a $3 holiday-themed scratch game that features nine top prizes of $30,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.80. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit www.ialottery.com.
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