CLIVE, Iowa — An Iowa woman was pleased when she thought she won $5 on a scratch-off game. But after scratching the ticket more completely, she had an even bigger reason to celebrate.
Kathryn Borden, 44, of Cedar Rapids, won $50,000, the highest prize in the Monopoly 20X scratch-off game, Iowa Lottery officials said in a news release on Monday.
Borden, a retail manager, had bought the $5 ticket at a Casey’s General Store in Cedar Rapids and scratched it off when she arrived at her residence. She initially believed that she had recouped the cost of the ticket. And then she kept scratching.
“I was scratching how much I won, and I was thinking, ‘Oh, I just won another $5,’” Borden said in a statement after accepting her prize at the Iowa Lottery’s Cedar Rapids regional office. “Then I kept scratching and more zeros came!
“I just sat there for 15 seconds. I rubbed my eyes a couple times to make sure I was seeing what I saw, and then I told my kids, ‘You guys, I think I just won $50,000!’”
It was the second top prize won in the game’s promotion, lottery officials said. The odds of winning the jackpot prize are 1 in 125,790.
Borden said she and her husband planned to use her winnings to pay off debts, buy a vehicle and add to their savings, according to the news release.