Steeleville resident wins $250K lottery prize

Playing the Crossword game paid off in a big way for Steeleville resident Lori Farris.
Farris, 56, recently scratched off a $250,000 Crossword ticket that she purchased at Casey's General Store in Chester and won one of the top prizes.
"I'm so grateful,"said Farris, when she presented her winning ticket at the Illinois Lottery Prize Center in Fairview Heights. "I am going to pay off all my debt with this money."
Farris told lottery officials she has been a resident of Steeleville for 15 years and was sitting in her car when she scratched off the ticket and discovered she won.
"I went back into the store to have the clerk double-check my ticket," Farris said in a news release from the Illinois Lottery. "I couldn't believe I won such a big prize."
Casey's received $2,500, or 1 percent of the prize amount, for selling the winning ticket, which is a $10 instant ticket. In the July 12 news release, the Illinois Lottery stated four of the 16 $250,000 prizes had not yet been claimed.
Farris joins Chester resident Tina Stewart as recent lottery winners from Randolph County who won significant prizes. Stewart won a $50,000 share of the June 7 Powerball drawing from a ticket purchased in Belleville.