Sandra Speer Wins Top Prize of $50,000 Playing "Super Crossword" Scratch Game
DES MOINES, Iowa - A Davenport woman said she and her husband were expecting to get a $5,000 check right up until they claimed their prize at an Iowa Lottery regional office.
Sandra Speer, 58, said she and her husband, Bob, were sure she'd won a $5,000 prize on her "Super Crossword" scratch ticket, but soon learned she'd actually won a top prize of $50,000.
"Until we got up here we thought we won $5,000, so I'm still in shock," Speer said.
Speer said even when she thought it was a $5,000 prize, Bob didn't believe her. She even took the ticket to a local retailer to have it scanned, but still was unable to clearly understand what she'd won.
"Well, she printed up a receipt, but there's no commas, so we thought it was five thousand," Speer said.
Speer said when she claimed her prize Wednesday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids, she could've fallen over when she heard what she'd actually won. She hadn't yet told anyone the news about her big win.
"I don't know who I want to share it with first," she said.
Speer said she plans to use some of her winnings to take a vacation. She purchased her winning ticket at Casey's, 3700 W. Locust St. in Davenport.
Super Crossword is a $5 scratch game. Players win a prize by scratching the "your letters" then scratching the corresponding letters found in Puzzles 1 and 2 and the "bonus word." If players have scratched at least three complete words in Puzzle 1 or 2, they win the corresponding prize shown in the prize legend for that puzzle. If players uncover all six letters in the "bonus word" by scratching the letters that match the "your letters" they win the prize shown in the prize box.
Ten top prizes of $50,000 are still up for grabs in Super Crossword, as well as eight prizes of $5,000, 120 prizes of $500 and more than 865 prizes of $100.
Players can enter eligible non-winning scratch tickets online to earn "Points For Prizes®" points. The point value will be revealed to the player on the website upon successful submission of each eligible valid ticket. There is a limit of 30 ticket entries per day. To participate in Points For Prizes®, a player must register for a free account at ialottery.com. Registration is a one-time process. Merchandise that can be ordered by using points will be listed on the website in the Points For Prizes® online store. Players can choose from items in categories such as apparel, automotive, jewelry, sporting, tools and more.
Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.8 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.
Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.
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