May 19, 2011 -- Yesterday began as a “mighty fine” day for Ronia Gibson of Rocky Hill—she was happily celebrating her 66th birthday with a day off from work, she had already received a lovely gift from her fiancé, John, and was enjoying playing one of her favorite CT Lottery instant games, “
$100,000 Cashword 3.” But, when Gibson discovered that she had a winning combination of “3 BLACK WORDS” and “3 RED WORDS” on her $100,000 Cashword 3 instant ticket, that’s when she knew that her birthday was going to be really spectacular—she had won $10,000, the second largest prize in the game. “What a birthday present!” Gibson exclaimed to lottery officials.
$100,000 Cashword 3, a hugely popular crossword-puzzle style of game, is an “extended play” instant game. The $10 ticket takes more time to play than a standard ticket, and the prizes that can be won are built upon how many matches are made as the play is completed.
“I like the time it takes to play the game, and then to figure out what I’ve won,” Gibson said. After Gibson had finished playing her ticket, she re-checked each word, double-checked again, and then scanned her ticket in a lottery Ticket Checker. Then, she called John to share her incredible news; “I hit! I won $10,000…on my birthday!”
Later that day, Gibson, who is employed by the Town of Rocky Hill in the facilities management department, arrived at CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill where she accepted a check for $6,853 (prize value after taxes). “I’m going to buy a new clothes dryer, send some money to my daughter and her family, and the rest of it will go into savings,” Gibson said.
Gibson’s winning $100,000 Cashword 3 ticket was purchased at Daily Mart located at 2204 Silas Deane Highway in Rocky Hill. For selling the $10,000 prize winning ticket, Daily Mart will receive a $100 selling bonus from the CT Lottery.