GUTTENBERG MAN WINS $30,000
WITHOUT REALIZING IT (AT FIRST)

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Jeffery Horstman Wins Big in the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Guttenberg man only counted nine words on his "Crossword" instant-scratch ticket, and had no idea he had won the top prize of $30,000 until a store clerk counted the words a second time.

Jeffery Horstman, 52, said a store clerk counted the words on his ticket, coming up with 10 instead of nine.

"She counted it about three times, and then the gal behind the counter ran it through the machine to make sure it was that big," Horstman said.

Horstman bought his winning ticket at Pronto of Guttenberg, 531 S. U.S. Highway 52 in Guttenberg.

Horstman was standing in the convenience store when he scratched the ticket.

"I couldn't believe it. I never thought it would happen to me," he said.

The first person Horstman told was a good friend from work, who happened to walk into the store shortly after his win. Horstman works as a laborer for Kann Manufacturing in Guttenberg.

Horstman claimed his ticket Friday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

To keep the ticket safe, he locked it in the glovebox of his vehicle until he could claim it.

In the past, Horstman won a $300 prize playing the "Crossword" scratch game.

He plans to use his winnings to work on his house, and also said he plans to keep playing.

"This is very exciting for a small town," Horstman said.

Crossword (yellow 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.

Forty-one prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword (yellow newsprint) as well as 64 prizes of $3,000, more than 885 prizes of $300 as well as more than 4,270 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.