Lottery player ‘thought his luck had run out.’ But scratch-off proved him wrong
A Connecticut man who’s been playing the lottery since he was 18 won a top prize on a crossword scratch-off game — and he already has plans for the windfall, lottery officials said.
“The first thought I had was retirement… pushing that up by a few months,” Keith Staschke, from Guilford, told CT Lottery officials, according to a June 10 news release.
Staschke bought his winning $500,000 CA$HWORD 2nd Edition ticket at a convenience store in Guilford. After he worked his way through the first of the puzzles, “he thought his luck had run out,” according to lottery officials, but then “he reached the bottom of the ticket.”
That’s when Staschke “scratched and revealed 10 complete words on the last puzzle and realized he had won the game’s top prize of $500,000,” lottery officials said.
The game is new, and Staschke is the first person to win its jackpot, according to lottery officials, who said two top prizes remain.
Staschke, who enjoys crossword-style lottery games, was thrilled that his lottery loyalty paid off.
“I’m definitely a happy guy — and I’ve got a happy wife too!” he said, per the release.
Guilford is about a 15-mile drive east from New Haven.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Lottery player ‘thought his luck had run out.’ But scratch-off proved him wrong."
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