SAC COUNTY MAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

Stephen Henkel Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Sac County man has won the top prize of $30,000 playing the lottery's "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

Stephen Henkel from Odebolt claimed his prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Storm Lake. He bought his winning ticket at Cubby's, 121 N. Des Moines St. in Odebolt.

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.

Two prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as six prizes of $3,000, more than 75 prizes of $300 as well as more than 380 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.