THREE MONTHS LATER, IOWA CITY MAN
CLAIMS $250,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

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Richard Twohy Wins $250,000 Prize Playing 'Bingo Times 10' Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa –Three months after discovering a $250,000 lottery win, an Iowa City man has claimed his prize.

Richard Twohy, 64, won the top prize playing the "Bingo Times 10" instant-scratch game. He said he hung onto the ticket for a few months to get his financial affairs in order.

"Bingo Times 10 is a lot of work. I knew that I had probably made a mistake in thinking that I had won because you can only win once per card," he said as he claimed his prize Monday.

He hadn't made a mistake, though. The card showed an "X," which usually pays $25,000, but in one of the lines was the "10X" symbol. The symbol meant the $25,000 prize was multiplied by 10, taking Twohy's prize up to $250,000.

"Life is a gift, just like this lottery ticket. I'm going to spread money around my family like my family has all done for me time and time again when I needed it. This is my opportunity; I never expected to be able to do my part for them, too," Twohy said.

Twohy said that one of the first people he told about his lottery win was his twin sister, Nancy.

"She was floored!" he said.

Twohy, who volunteers teaching seniors and the disabled to use computers, said he plans to use some of his winnings to pay bills. He also plans to give some to his family and possibly take a trip south over the winter.

"I'm going to distribute a serious amount among family because I know that time only lasts as long as the moment you're in," he said.

Twohy said that even before his win, he considered himself a lucky person.

"I've had some bizarre bad luck, but a lifetime of good luck, too," he said.

Twohy said he's also won some $500 prizes playing Bingo Times 10. He said he enjoys the Bingo scratch game because it takes some time to play, extending the entertainment for him.

Twohy claimed his prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. He bought his winning ticket at Kum & Go, 323 E. Burlington in Iowa City.

Bingo Times 10 is a $10 scratch game. Players try to match any complete horizontal, vertical or diagonal line, four corners, or an "X" pattern on one of the eight Bingo cards to win the corresponding prize. If the 10X symbol appears in any winning Bingo pattern, the prize is multiplied by 10. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 3.37.

Six top prizes of $250,000 have yet to be claimed in Bingo Times 10 along with more than 20 prizes of $25,000, more than 50 prizes of $2,500, more than 100 prizes of $1,000, and thousands more prizes of $100 to $500.

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.