MASON CITY WOMAN'S FAVORITE GAME BECOMES LUCKY GAME

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Ami Oden Wins Top Prize of $12,000 Playing the "Double Cherry Twist" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Mason City woman was so excited to win the top prize of $12,000 playing her favorite scratch game, she didn't know what to say.

Ami Oden, 42, said she'll definitely continue to play the "Double Cherry Twist" instant-scratch game, especially after winning the top prize.

"I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'Okay. This isn't happening to me!'" Oden said.

Oden was in the convenience store parking lot with a friend when she scratched the ticket. She said even after checking it several times, she still couldn't believe she'd won.

"It hasn't hit me yet," she said.

Oden, who is a food server at Perkins, said she plans to use some of her winnings to pay back loans.

Oden claimed her prize Friday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Mason City. She purchased her winning ticket at Kum & Go, 2325 Hwy 18 E. in Clear Lake.

The Double Cherry Twist scratch game is a $2 ticket. If players match any three like symbols in the same spin, they win the amount of the prize shown. If players find the "cherry" symbol, they win double the prize shown. If players find the "twist" symbol, they win all ten prizes shown instantly. Overall odds in the game are 1 in 3.56.

Nine prizes of $12,000 are still up for grabs in the Double Cherry Twist game, along with 138 prizes of $200 prizes and 191 prizes of $100.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, its players have won more than $2.4 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion for state programs.