Iowa Lottery

Buena Vista County Woman Wins $30,000 Lottery Prize

Johanna Hostetler Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

  Hear Johanna tell her story.

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DES MOINES, Iowa - A Buena Vista County woman said she couldn't stop celebrating after she discovered she'd won the top prize of $30,000 playing the "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

Johanna Hostetler, 28, said she bought a few Crossword tickets to pass time while she was in the car with her sister.

"I got to the third ticket and all of the letters kept coming. I thought I won $3 at first and then it kept going up and up and up," Hostetler said. "I said, 'I either won three thousand or thirty thousand.'"

Hostetler said her sister didn't believe her, so they pulled into a retailer to have the ticket validated. She said the cashier ran the ticket through the validation machine twice to make sure she was reading it right.

"I was jumping up and down just screaming and shaking," Hostetler said.

Hostetler said she's told a lot of her friends and family, but they all think she's joking. She said Crossword is one of her favorite scratch games and she thinks she'll continue to play.

Hostetler, who is from Sioux Rapids, plans to use some of her winnings to pay bills.

She claimed her prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Storm Lake. Hostetler purchased her winning ticket at Lauren's Country Store, 211 Hwy. 10 in Laurens.