A Missouri Lottery Scratchers player in Fenton found out her $500 prize was actually $100,000.
The woman thought she won $500 on a “Triple Cherry Crossword” ticket until she scanned it at the store and found out it was $100,000.
“I thought I won $500,” she told the Missouri Lottery. “Turns out, I missed some words.” The game pays higher prizes as more words are uncovered.
“When I took the ticket in, the clerk scanned it and said, ‘You better look at the screen,’” she said.
The ticket was purchased at Dierbergs Market, 450 Old Smizer Mill Road.
The winner plans to save some of the winnings for retirement.
“Triple Cherry Crossword” is a $5 game that currently offers over $9.9 million in unclaimed prizes, including two $30,000 prizes and two more $100,000 top prizes.
In fiscal year 2022, 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 proceeds went to educational programs in the county.