Altoona Man Listens To Friend's Advice, Wins $10,000 Lottery Prize
Matt Christoffersen Claims InstaPlay Winnings
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CLIVE, Iowa — An Altoona man has a good friend to thank for giving him advice that led to a $10,000 lottery prize.
“He just called me and said it's getting up there,” Matt Christoffersen said of the growing jackpot in the “Blank Check Progressive” InstaPlay game.
Christoffersen bought his winning ticket at Hy-Vee, 108 Eighth St. SW in Altoona, and claimed his prize on Friday at the lottery's main office in Clive. He said his big win caught him off guard.
“I didn't really react,” Christoffersen said. “I just tucked it into my pocket and went home. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, it was weird. I was kind of in shock.”
Christoffersen, who is 35 and works at a financial institution, said he plans to pay off his pickup truck and find a way to thank his friend.
“Maybe a steak dinner,” he said.
As of Friday afternoon, the jackpot in Blank Check Progressive is at more than $240,000 and is still growing. Whoever wins it will be claiming the second jackpot in the game since it debuted in November. The first jackpot was a prize of $60,029, which was won in December in Cedar Rapids.
Blank Check Progressive is a $30 game with a progressive jackpot that starts at $50,000 and increases with every ticket sold statewide until it is won.
InstaPlay games, which range in price from $1 to $30, combine features from instant-scratch and lotto games to give players an option with no numbers to pick, playslips to fill out or wait for a drawing. InstaPlay tickets are known as "scratchless" because they have no security coating that needs to be removed to determine the prize won. The tickets are printed on demand from the lottery terminal.
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