Iowa Woman Wins $100,000 After Continuing Lottery Tradition She Had With Late Husband

Winning thousands of dollars can be emotional.

Of course, we'd all be thrilled to win $100,000 in general but for one Iowa woman, the meaning runs deeper.

According to the Iowa Lottery, Marjory from West Des Moines had a tradition with her late husband, Dale. For years, on Saturday nights, they played the Iowa Lottery's crossword scratch games.

Dale passed away in March but Marjory kept the tradition going.

And finally, last weekend while we're all dealing with a snowstorm, she won it.

She scored the $100,000 top prize in the "$100,000 Mega Crossword" scratch game that she got at Maverik, 330 S. Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines. For her, the win ran deeper than the thrill of the money.

She told the Iowa Lottery:

I just sat there and stared at it awhile. We were always waiting for that big one to come through, and it finally did. It was absolutely surreal. This is maybe a sign and a gift from him.

As for what she's going to do with the money, Marjory says she plans to invest most of the $100,000 for her retirement but she's also planning a few splurges, like new furniture.

The "$100,000 Mega Crossword" game works like this: players try to finish words with a given set of letters. The more words they're able to complete, the higher the prize. The game has 46 top prizes available and the odds are 1 in 3.29.

For more details about this game and other Iowa Lottery games, you can visit their website.