Iowa Lottery

Wapello Woman's Hunch About Feeling Lucky Was Right

Chandra Bishop Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

  Hear Chandra tell her story.

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DES MOINES, Iowa - A Wapello woman said she bought a few scratch tickets because she was feeling lucky; it turned out her feelings were right.

Chandra Bishop, 30, said she couldn't believe her eyes when she discovered she'd won a top prize of $30,000 playing the lottery's "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

"The last one, I was counting them and I was like, 'I have nine words!'" Bishop said. "And then I said, 'Holy cow! I forgot to scratch off an 'A.' So it went from $3,000 to $30,000."

Bishop, who is a homemaker caring for three children, said she was especially happy to win this prize because Crossword is her favorite game to play.

"I only ever shoot for the hundred dollars; I was never expecting to win this!" Bishop said.

Bishop was able to share the big news with her husband, Gary, first. Their children are nine, six and four, so Bishop said they are coming up with creative ways to spend the winnings.

"I told my mom right after I told my husband, and all my friends knew before I woke up this morning," Bishop said as she claimed her prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

Bishop said she plans to use some of her winnings to pay bills, as well as build an addition onto her house. She purchased her winning ticket at Kum & Go, 303 Hwy. 61 N. in Wapello.

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