Cedar Rapids Man Wins Second Big Prize in 2024
James Mart Claims Top Prize In 'Word Search' InstaPlay Game
To download image, right click on image, then navigate to 'Save Picture As' to save this file to your computer.
CLIVE, Iowa — A Cedar Rapids man admits he's feeling lucky after winning his second big lottery prize in four months.
"It's a nice, warm feeling," James Mart said on Monday as he claimed his $100,000 prize at the lottery's Cedar Rapids regional office.
Mart, 68, won a top prize in the Iowa Lottery's "Word Search" InstaPlay game, which came four months after a $10,000 scratch-ticket win. He said his latest win was even more shocking than his first.
"It's kind of like, 'No! Those zeros must be in the wrong place! I didn't win $100,000!'" Mart said with a laugh.
Mart bought his lucky ticket at Hy-Vee Drugstore, 505 Boyson Road NE in Cedar Rapids, and immediately scanned it on the store's self-checker.
"I screamed out," Mart said. "People are looking at me like, 'What's wrong with you?' I said, 'Well, it says I won $100,000!'"
Mart said he plans to donate some of his winnings to a local animal rescue. He and his family have adopted two dogs and three cats from a local shelter.
"We're big believers in rescuing animals like that," he said.
The InstaPlay product combines features from instant-scratch and lotto games. InstaPlay tickets are called "scratchless" because they have no security coating that needs to be removed to determine the prize won. And rather than having supplies of tickets printed in advance like those in traditional scratch and pull-tab games, InstaPlay tickets are printed on demand from the lottery terminal.
InstaPlay games range in price from $1 to $30. For more information, visit www.ialottery.com.
Return to top↑