Relaxing Moment Turns into $50,000 Prize

Feb. 22, 2024

A Missouri Lottery player in Adair County won a $50,000 top prize on a “Crossword Xtreme” Scratchers ticket she purchased at Casey’s, 1620 S. Baltimore St., in Kirksville.
 
“I love crosswords. I do it just to relax,” the winner said.
 
She shared she had originally misread the prize amount while scratching the ticket. 

“At first, I just thought it was $5,000, and then we checked it,” she explained. “I was ecstatic about it being $5,000 because that’s a lot, and then we checked it and it was $50,000!”

She plans to use the money toward bills. 

“Crossword Xtreme” is a $3 Scratchers game currently offering more than $8.1 million in unclaimed prizes, including five additional top prizes of $50,000 and 14 prizes of $5,000. 

In FY23, players in Adair County won more than $3.2 million in Missouri Lottery prizes. Retailers received $317,000 in commissions and bonuses, while more than $6.3 million went to education programs in the county.