TOPEKA, KAN. – Kansas State University Student Jeffrey Wolken is learning many useful things in college, including the importance of patience. Wolken, 26, scratched off a $50,000 prize on a $5 Super Red Hot Crossword instant ticket last July, and just claimed it at Lottery headquarters this week.
“My dad’s a banker,” he said. “He told me to hold off claiming it until 2014. It was tough to wait, definitely tough.” Wolken said since July the ticket has been stored safely in a safe deposit box.
Wolken recalled how he came to buy the ticket. He said he had some time to kill one day last July while waiting for his girlfriend to get out of class, so he stopped at a convenience store to get a soft drink and picked up the $5 ticket while he was there.
“That was kind of unusual, because I don’t usually buy $5 tickets,” he said. “I usually get the $2 Bonus Crosswords.”
Wolken, whose hometown is Beloit, is studying for his B.S. in Construction Science Management. He told Lottery officials he would use the prize money to pay school expenses and maybe purchase a different vehicle. He also hopes to take a ski vacation over spring break.
Wolken’s lucky Super Red Hot Crossword ticket was purchased at Dara’s Fast Lane, located at 1816 Claflin Road in Manhattan. Wolken’s prize was the last $50,000 prize to be claimed in Game #534 Super Red Hot Crossword.
The Kansas Lottery is currently selling two other $5 Super Red Crossword games, #554 and #562. Players who have non-winning tickets in #562 Super Red Hot Crossword can enter their tickets into a pair of drawings to win a Kansas Speedway VIP Racing Experience prize package: Speedway Super Red Hot Crossword Promotion.
