WEBSTER COUNTY WOMAN RECEIVES $25,000 STOCKING STUFFER

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Jessica Krough Wins Top Prize Playing "Wild Bingo" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Webster County woman's mother says she probably won't be able to outdo this year's stocking stuffer gift in the future.

Jessica Krough, 22, from Otho said her mother stuck a few "Wild Bingo" scratch tickets in Krough's stocking for the holidays. Little did they know one of those tickets was a top-prize winner.

"I thought I'd won $500 with the four corners, so I called my parents and I was like, 'Oh my gosh! I just won $500!' and I was very excited and screaming. And then I was like, 'Wait, wait, wait.' And when I saw the "X," I was freaking out!" Krough said.

She ended up winning the top prize of $25,000. Krough, who lives only a few miles from her parents, rushed to their home to celebrate the win.

"I was jumping up and down on the couch. And my sister was like, 'You can't jump on the couch!' And I said, 'I'll buy us a new one!'" Krough laughed.

Krough said after telling all her family the news, word has traveled fast in their small town.

"Somehow everyone knows. I went to church and one of the little old ladies that goes to church with me said, 'I heard about your winnings!'" Krough said.

Krough and her mother took the ticket back to where it was purchased to have it validated. She laughed about their enthusiasm in the store.

"My mom took pictures of me when we were there! There was big excitement in that Casey's alone," Krough said.

Krough, who recently graduated from the University of Northern Iowa, plans to use her winnings to pay off student loans. She is currently working as a parent-partner coordinator for Living Families and Communities.

Krough claimed her prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines. Her mother bought the winning ticket at Casey's, 2206 Second Ave. N. in Fort Dodge.

Wild Bingo is a $2 scratch game. Players try to match any complete horizontal, vertical or diagonal line, four corners, or an "X" pattern on one of the four Bingo cards to win the corresponding prize in the prize arrow that points to their card. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 3.57.

Three top prizes of $25,000 have yet to be claimed in Wild Bingo, along with five prizes of $2,500, as well as 19 prizes of $500 and more than 100 prizes of $150 and $250.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, more than $2.4 billion has been awarded in prizes and more than $1.2 billion has been raised for state programs.