A player contacted us this week with a question about a “Colossal Crossword” scratch ticket she and her husband had checked at a lottery terminal after realizing they’d won a prize. They thought they won more than the amount shown on the customer receipt they received, so they reached out to us to ask about it.
As it turns out, they hadn’t scratched off all the security coating on the ticket, and it led to a mistake as they played. I’ve included an image here so you can see the details.
In the “Your Letters” area at the top of the ticket, some of the security coating is still in place in different spots, and in particular, it covers up a portion of the letter highlighted in the red box. At a glance, you might think that letter is an “F,” which is what the couple believed. The letter actually is a “P,” but a portion at the top is still under the ticket’s security coating.
With the letter “F” correctly taken out of the mix, there are four complete words in Puzzle 3 and three complete words in Puzzle 4 for $70 in total winnings on that ticket.
It’s a real-world example of the message you’ve seen me share many times here on the blog: Please closely check the results of your tickets, and if you ever have a question, feel free to reach out to us here at the Iowa Lottery. We’ll be happy to help get you the accurate information.
Hi, James. The letters from the "YOUR LETTERS" area at the top of the image are those that the player used in the two puzzles you can see. In Puzzle 3, the letters completed four words: watt, one, east, and steam. The player therefore won a $40 prize in that puzzle. In Puzzle 4, the letters completed three words: other, ooze, and adage. So, the player won a $30 prize in that puzzle. I hope this explanation helps!
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | May 26, 2021 at 01:07 PM
according to what letters are shown, I don't see any winning, are there letters we can't see?
Posted by: James Williams | May 26, 2021 at 10:47 AM