JACKSON COUNTY MAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

Thomas Hutchcroft Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Jackson County man won the top prize of $30,000 playing the "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

Thomas Hutchcroft, a La Motte resident, claimed his prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. He bought his winning ticket at Circle Saloon, 806 Pleasant St. in La Motte.

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.

Fifteen prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as 24 prizes of $3,000, more than 385 prizes of $300 as well as more than 1,855 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.