WATERLOO MAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

Michael Miller Wins Top Prize Playing the "Jingle Bell Crossword" Scratch Game

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

Michael Miller claimed his prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. He bought his winning ticket at Sinclair, 4713 Sixth St. S.W. in Cedar Rapids.

Jingle Bell 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.

Twenty-two prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Jingle Bell Crossword as well as 31 prizes of $3,000, more than 430 prizes of $300 as well as 2,090 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 nearly $1.2 billion for state programs.