DES MOINES, IOWA -- An Ottumwa woman was never expecting to uncover a $30,000 “Crossword” prize while drinking her morning coffee.Martha Gladson said she always visits the Kum & Go at 1108 N. Quincy Ave. in Ottumwa for her morning coffee and sometimes picks up a few scratch tickets while she’s there.
“I had bought two tickets, took them home and had won $3,” Gladson said. “I scratched the second one off and couldn’t believe how many words I was getting!”
Gladson, said she was in such disbelief, she called her neighbor to double-check her ticket.
“I went over there and I said, ‘Could you please count how many words I have?’ And she counted and said, ‘Martha, you won $30,000!’” Gladson said.
Gladson, who retired from the healthcare industry recently, took her ticket back to Kum & Go to have it validated. She said she hugged the clerk who sold her the winning ticket and then she called her daughter, Laura.
“She said, ‘What!’” Gladson said with a laugh when she claimed her prize May 6 at the Iowa Lottery’s headquarters in Des Moines.
Gladson said she plans to use some of her winnings to pay bills; after that she’s still brainstorming.
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