News : Shellsburg Man Claims Big Prize In ‘The Perfect Gift’ Game

A Benton County man said he verified his win several times before he finally believed that he had won a $10,000 lottery prize.

"I scanned it three more times, then I went back into the gas station just to make sure," Louis Janecek II said on Tuesday as he claimed his prize at the Iowa Lottery's Cedar Rapids regional office.

Janecek, 42, of Shellsburg, won the eighth prize of $10,000 in "The Perfect Gift" scratch game. He bought his winning ticket at Palo Mini Mart, 1204 First St. in Palo.

He said he plans to use his winnings to pay bills and purchase Christmas gifts for his four children.

"It just makes everything that much nicer for the holidays," he said.

The Perfect Gift is a $20 scratch game that features 13 top prizes of $25,000, 16 prizes of $10,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.64. For more information about this game and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com.

Players can enter nonwinning holiday scratch tickets into the lottery's Holiday Cash Bash Play It Again® promotion from now through 9:59 a.m. on Jan. 10. The promotion will award $355,000 in cash prizes, including a grand prize of $100,000. For rules and complete details, visit ialottery.com.