$30,000 SCRATCH TICKET SOLD IN COUNCIL BLUFFS

For media-ready jpeg image of the Miles Pein click here.

Miles Pein Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – An Omaha, Neb. man picked up an Iowa Lottery "Crossword" instant-scratch ticket while in Council Bluffs and ended up winning the top prize of $30,000.

Miles Pein claimed his prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Council Bluffs. He purchased his winning ticket at Bucky's Express, 15 N. 16th St. in Council Bluffs.

Crossword is a $3 scratch game. Players win a prize by uncovering at least three complete words in the ticket's puzzle. If a player uncovers 10 words, he/she wins $30,000. The overall odds of winning in the game are about 1 in 4.

Sixty-eight prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as 103 prizes of $3,000, more than 1,480 prizes of $300 and more than 7,190 prizes of $100.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start 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.