MASON CITY – A north Iowa college student said she had a sleepless night after winning a big lottery prize last week.
Courtney Lowe of Rockwell claimed the fourth of 17 top prizes of $100,000 available in the lottery’s “$100,000 Mega Crossword” scratch game.
The 21-year-old said she bought a couple of tickets in that game Thursday at Jonesy’s Stop N Shop in Rockwell on her way home.
Lowe said she scratched off her tickets later that evening and found out that one of her tickets had won the game’s $100,000 top prize.
“It said (I won) $100,000 and I didn’t believe it,” Lowe told lottery employees Friday as she claimed her prize at the lottery’s regional office in Mason City. “I didn’t believe it. I triple counted it; I made sure I had every letter; I counted the words again.”
She then called her Dad at work and had him double-check her work.
“Sent him pictures of it and told him, ‘I think I just won this, but will you check it for me because I think I’m going crazy?’” she said.
Lowe’s Dad confirmed her $100,000 lottery win.
“After that I was pretty anxious and I didn’t sleep at all last night,” she said.
Lowe currently attends North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City where she is taking courses to become a Medical Assistant. She said she plans to save a majority of her winnings.
“I already have my college paid for because I work all the time and I saved up for that,” she said.
The $100,000 Mega Crossword scratch game is a $10 scratch game.
