Scratchers Player's $500 Prize Turns into $100,000 Win

Mar. 01, 2023

A Scratchers player in Fenton thought she’d won a $500 prize on a Missouri Lottery “Triple Cherry Crossword” ticket until it was scanned at the store.

"I thought I won $500," she explained of the game that pays higher prizes as more words are uncovered. “Turns out, I missed some words!”

“When I took the ticket in, the clerk scanned it and said, ‘You better look at the screen,’” she laughed.

She had spelled her way to a $100,000 top prize by uncovering 10 words on her favorite ticket.

The winner shared the good news with her coworkers and is planning to save some of the winnings for retirement.

The winning ticket was purchased at Dierbergs Market, 450 Old Smizer Mill Road, in Fenton.

“Triple Cherry Crossword” is a $5 game that currently offers over $9.9 million in unclaimed prizes, including two $30,000 second prizes and three more $100,000 top prizes. 

In FY22, players in St. Louis County won more than $205.1 million in Missouri Lottery prizes, retailers received more than $19.5 million in commissions and bonuses, and more than $39 million in Lottery proceeds went to educational programs in the county.