DES MOINES WOMAN CLAIMS $100,000 PRIZE
IN "NUTCRACKER CASH" GAME

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Selma Crnkic Wins First Top Prize In Holiday Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines woman has claimed the first top prize of $100,000 in the holiday-themed "Nutcracker Cash" instant-scratch game.

Selma Crnkic, 40, said she likes to play the lottery and she's always hoped she’d be a big winner someday.

"I can't believe it! It's a shock for me," Crnkic said as she claimed her prize Wednesday at the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines. She won the first of six prizes of $100,000 available in the game.

Crnkic said her son Semir had asked her to stop by the store to pick up a few things when she decided to buy a Nutcracker Cash ticket. She was at home with Semir and his fiancée, Amra Mujakic, when she discovered her win.

"I couldn't believe it! I thought it was just a joke, but we took it to the gas station and they said it was a winner," Semir said.

Crnkic said she has also shared the news with many of her friends, all of whom have been very excited and congratulatory. Crnkic said she plans to use some of her winnings for her son's upcoming wedding.

She bought her winning ticket at Dahl's, 1208 Prospect Drive in West Des Moines.

"Everybody needs to buy tickets!" Crnkic said with a laugh.

Nutcracker Cash is a $10 scratch game with two holiday-themed play areas. In play area one, players try to match three identical symbols in the same row to win a prize. If they match two identical symbols and the "$$" symbol, they win double the prize shown. In play area two, players reveal any prize amount and win that amount. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 2.91.

Five top prizes of $100,000 are still available in Nutcracker Cash along with nine prizes of $5,000 and more than 180 prizes of $500.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, more than $2.4 billion has been awarded in prizes and nearly $1.2 billion has been raised for state programs.