MASON CITY MAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

For media-ready jpeg image of Thomas Witham and Lori Smith click here.

Thomas Witham Wins Top Prize of $30,000 Playing the "Crossword" (orange newsprint) Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Mason City man won the top prize of $30,000 playing the "Crossword" (orange newsprint) scratch game.

Thomas Witham claimed his prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Mason City. He bought his winning ticket at Casey's, 610 S. Monroe in Mason City.

Crossword (orange newsprint) 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.

Fifty-seven prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword (orange newsprint) as well as 77 prizes of $3,000, more than 1,140 prizes of $300 as well as more than 5,530 prizes of $100.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.2 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for state programs.