Eastern Iowa Woman Wins $10,000 Lottery Prize
Joanne Paisley Claims Big Prize in 'Colossal Crossword' Scratch Game
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CLIVE, Iowa - An eastern Iowa woman bought a lottery ticket on her way to work and won a $10,000 prize.
"I'm still in shock and disbelief," Joanne Paisley, 50, of Coralville told officials on Wednesday as she claimed her prize at the lottery's Cedar Rapids regional office. "It just solved so many things that my mind had been on and it's just like, 'Holy cow!' I didn't ever think this would ever happen to me."
Paisley bought her winning "Colossal Crossword" ticket at Hy-Vee Gas, 2025 Second St. in Coralville, where she stopped for a pop on her way to work at a nearby co-op. She checked her ticket at work with the Iowa Lottery's mobile app, but had to check it three or four times before the reality of her win set in.
"I thought my mind was playing tricks on me," she said. "I had never felt such a thrill in my life. My heart started pumping really fast and I got excited."
She told her coworkers about her win, and said her boss encouraged her to leave work to claim the prize.
"I'm all giddy and happy, and my boss goes, 'You better go get that. You're not going to do anything good here,'" she recalled with a laugh.
Paisley said the win will make for a very merry Christmas season. She also has her eye on an upcoming trip in 2022.
"It comes at a good time," she said. "My son is getting married in Las Vegas next July."
Colossal Crossword is a $30 scratch game that features 13 top prizes of $300,000, 38 prizes of $10,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.29. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com.
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