Cedar Rapids woman won $250,000 lottery prize

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Cedar Rapids woman won a $250,000 prize playing the lottery's “Lucky Diamonds” instant-scratch game.

Debra Taylor claimed her prize Wednesday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. She purchased her winning ticket at Hy-Vee, 279 Collins Road N.E. in Cedar Rapids.

Lucky Diamonds is a $10 scratch game. Players try to match any of “your numbers” to the “winning numbers” in the play area on each ticket. Players who find the “double diamond” symbol win double the prize shown. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 3.18.

Six top prizes of $250,000 are still up for grabs in Lucky Diamonds, as well as 35 prizes of $5,000 and 525 prizes of $500.

Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.6 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.