OTTUMWA MAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

Yuris Herrera Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – An Ottumwa man won the top prize of $30,000 playing the Iowa Lottery's "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

Yuris Herrera claimed his prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines. He bought his winning ticket at Agency Amoco, 444 E. Main in Agency.

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-four prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as more than 120 prizes of $3,000, more than 1,825 prizes of $300 and more than 8,800 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.