A Vinton man won the top prize of $25,000 playing the lottery's "Bingo Night" instant-scratch game.

Merkle bought his winning ticket at Casey's, 3625 Edgewood Road S.W. in Cedar Rapids. He claimed his prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

Bingo Night is a $2 scratch game. Players win prizes by matching the numbers in a line, the four corners or an "X" pattern on the Bingo cards in the play area on each ticket.

The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 3.57. Six top prizes of $25,000 are still up for grabs in Bingo Night, as well as 19 prizes of $2,500, more than 40 prizes of $500 and more than 335 prizes of $250 and $150.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, more than $2.4 billion has been awarded in prizes and more than $1.2 billion has been raised for state programs. For more information about how lottery proceeds have helped make Iowa a better place to live, go to www.ialottery.com.