FIRST TOP PRIZE IN "TROPICAL TREASURES" SCRATCH GAME
SOLD IN COUNCIL BLUFFS

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Janice 'Jaymie' Burns Wins First Top Prize of $30,000 Playing the "Tropical Treasures" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – An Omaha, Neb. woman was traveling through Council Bluffs when she decided to pick up one of the Iowa Lottery's new "Tropical Treasures" instant-scratch tickets and ended up winning the top prize.

Janice 'Jaymie' Burns, 35, said she picked up a ticket while she was having her tire changed, but she never expected to win the $30,000 top prize.

"It was the first one I scratched off. I was thinking, 'Gosh it would be nice to win that. All of a sudden I saw the third treasure chest and I had to have my brother down and double check it for me," she said.

Burns said her brother, Chad Flynn, didn't believe her at first, but once he saw the ticket he changed his mind very quickly. Burns also shared the news about her win with her grandpa.

"He said he just wants me to appreciate it, which is what everyone has been saying," she said.

Burns, an account manager for GEM Financial, claimed her prize Friday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Council Bluffs, the same day she purchased the ticket. She purchased her winning ticket at Darrah's, 3607 Ninth Ave. in Council Bluffs.

Burns plans to use some of her winnings to pay bills.

Tropical Treasures is a $3 game. Players uncover the "Treasure Map Coordinates" and the corresponding squares on the "Treasure Map." If they reveal three like symbols, they win the prize shown in the "Legend." Overall odds of winning in the game are 1 in 3.51.

Burns won the first of eight top prizes. Seven top prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Tropical Treasures, as well as 53 prizes of $1,000, more than 350 prizes of $150 and more than 560 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.