Superstitious Parsons Resident Wins $20,000 Top Prize

According to Jackie Moss, she's superstitious when buying Kansas Lottery instant scratch tickets.  Before making a purchase, she always asks what the ticket number is because she doesn't like buying lower numbered tickets.  On December 30, the Parsons resident set her superstitions aside and purchased six $2 Bonus Crossword tickets numbered in the 20s.  Moss is no longer superstitious since she won a $20,000 top prize on ticket number 22

"I have my superstitions when I buy lottery tickets," said Moss.  "Besides liking tickets with higher ticket numbers, I usually only buy five at a time.  I made another exception that day and bought six tickets."  Moss scratched her tickets after cooking dinner that night.

"I thought I had won $500 at first and asked my son to take a look," said Moss.  "He thought I had won $100, so I took my ticket down to the store and asked a store clerk to scan it for me.  When she told me I had to take my ticket to the Lottery, I thought I had won $2,000.  I asked the clerk if she would help me figure out exactly how much I had won."

In order to help Moss figure out how much the ticket was worth, the store clerk marked a line through each word Moss had uncovered and counted each one.  When she counted 10 words, the clerk knew Moss had won $20,000.

"When she was done, she looked up at me and said, 'Congratulations, you won $20,000!'" said Moss.  "I can't repeat what my response was, but I was thrilled.  I immediately signed the back of my ticket and hid it under my mattress until I was able to take the day off to claim my prize."

Moss, who works for TFI Family Services, has three children and four grandchildren.  She plans to give part of her winnings to her church and share the rest with her family.

The winning ticket was purchased at Pete's of Parsons, located at 901 S. 16 St. in Parsons.