CEDAR RAPIDS MAN GETS HOLIDAY SURPRISE

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Ted Hootman Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Cedar Rapids man was shocked when he uncovered the 10 words he needed to win the top prize of $30,000 in the "Crossword" scratch game!

Ted Hootman, 62, couldn't express how surprised he was to discover the win. This happens to be Hootman's second top-prize win playing Crossword.

"It really surprised me because I didn't think I'd hit twice on the same thing!" Hootman said.

Hootman was shopping for holiday groceries with his wife when he picked up the ticket. At first, he thought he'd uncovered seven words for a prize of $3,000.

"I scratched it off and I told my wife I thought I'd had seven words. And she said, 'No I think you have eight.' So I took the thing back to the store and they ran it through the machine and they said it was $30,000!" Hootman said.

Hootman said when he returned home, his wife didn't believe he'd won the top prize. Since winning he's told his children.

"They wonder what I won it for because they didn't win! They're jealous," Hootman laughed.

Hootman said he hasn't made any plans for his winnings yet. With his last winnings, he put a new roof on his house and paid bills. He said he plans to continue playing.

Hootman claimed his prize Tuesday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. He bought his winning ticket at Hy-Vee, 20 Wilson Ave. S.W. in Cedar Rapids.

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.

Four prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as seven prizes of $3,000, 115 prizes of $300 as well as more than 525 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.