HARRISON COUNTY MAN SAVES THE BEST FOR LAST

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Dan Michael Wins Top Prize of $30,000 Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Harrison County man thought his luck had run out as he scratched his first three nonwinning "Crossword" tickets. As he started scratching his last one, he realized his luck had started to change.

Dan Michael, 40, of Magnolia, said he was in total disbelief when his last ticket revealed the top prize of $30,000.

"I came home from work and scratched that one off and it was the big winner! It's unbelievable; I still can't believe it," Michael said.

Michael joked that had he known that ticket was the big winner, he would've scratched that one first. He said he's had a chance to tell most people he knows.

"Most of them are like, 'You're lying!' And I say, 'No, I'm not!'" Michael said.

Michael currently works as a service technician for Culligan Water. He added that Crossword is his favorite scratch game to play. In the past he's won a few prizes of $100.

"My girlfriend said to me Monday night, 'Aren't you tired of playing those?' And I said, 'Nope, I'm going to win big. I don'’t want the $300 or the $3,000. I want the $30,000.' A few days later I won it!" Michael said.

Michael plans to use some of his winnings to pay off his house.

Michael claimed his prize Friday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Council Bluffs. He bought his winning ticket at C & K Country Store, 614 Erie St. in Missouri Valley.

Crossword is a $3 scratch game. Players win a prize by uncovering at least three complete words in the ticket's puzzle. If a player uncovers 10 words, he/she wins $30,000. The overall odds of winning in the game are about 1 in 4.

Eighty-six prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as 131 prizes of $3,000, more than 1,870 prizes of $300 and more than 9,000 prizes of $100.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.4 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion for state programs.