Floyd woman wins $10K in lottery scratch game

MASON CITY – A northern Iowa woman was excited to win the lottery, but her excitement grew when she found out that she won a lot more than she initially thought.

Dianne Menden of Floyd claimed the 15th of 33 prizes of $10,000 available in the Iowa Lottery’s “$100,000 Mega Crossword” scratch game.

The 59-year-old said she bought her winning ticket Friday at Love’s Travel Stop, 100 Monroe St. in Floyd. She said it was late at night and she was sleepy so she didn’t know how much she’d won right away. Therefore, she said she had a store clerk check her ticket for her on the lottery machine.

“What did I win? And she said, ‘$1,000.’ And I’m like, ‘Get out of town, really?’ And she says, ‘Yeah.'” Menden told lottery employees Monday as she claimed her prize at the lottery’s regional office in Mason City.

However, when Menden reread her receipt the next morning she realized that the store clerk had miscounted the zeroes – she had actually won $10,000.

“It was a total 100 percent surprise,” she said.

Menden said she plans to use a portion of her winnings to buy a wedding gift for her son, who is getting married later this month, and save the rest.

The $100,000 Mega Crossword is a $10 ticket.