Top Prize Drawing Winner
Dottie Howells,
Garrettsville

Dayton... When the Ohio Lottery held a Top Prize Drawing for the Special Edition Cashword instant ticket on March 18th, the winner - $100,000 richer - could not be located. It turns out she had moved and changed her phone number.

But after nearly a week of investigating, 36-year-old Dottie Howells of Garrettsville was located, and Lottery officials were able to share the news of her good fortune. On Friday, March 28, with tears in her eyes, Howells walked into the Save 4 Store on South Street where she originally purchased her ticket.

“I didn’t think I would win, and I figured the drawing already happened,” Howells said, explaining her lack of communication. But TPD drawings come after the close of the game, which sometimes means that the ticket was purchased a year or so before the drawing actually occurs. Howells purchased her $5 Special Edition Cashword ticket in Nov. 2006, at which time she won an instant $1,000 prize. When she made that claim, she was automatically entered into the drawing for the $100,000 top prize.