TOPEKA, KAN. – Steve Liby had a great start to his day Tuesday morning. The Clay Center resident purchased a $2 Bonus Crossword instant scratch ticket before work, winning a $20,000 top prize when he revealed all ten words on the game!

“I have a daily routine,” explained Liby. “I stop for tea and a couple of Crossword tickets before I go to work. Since I arrived at work about 30 minutes early, I scratched my tickets. I knew I had won something, but I wasn’t sure how much. I thought it was a $2,000 winner, but I thought that couldn’t be right. So I put the ticket in my pocket to look at later.”

Knowing that the ticket could possibly be worth $2,000, Liby didn’t wait long before checking the ticket again.

“That’s when I realized I’d missed a couple of letters and actually had ten words,” said Liby. “I went back to the convenience store and asked the store clerk to check my ticket. After they checked my ticket, I decided to call the Lottery office and have someone there confirm it was really a winner.”

Once he was certain he had a $20,000 winning ticket, Liby went home for lunch to share the good news with his wife Sandy.

“I thought he was going to pass out,” smiled Sandy. “If it had been a bigger winner, he probably would have had a heart attack.”

Liby, who has worked for Clay County for 35 years, plans to pay off bills with his prize money.

“I will be completely debt free for the first time in my life,” said Liby. “With the way the economy is, that’s a great feeling.”

The winning ticket was purchased at Short Stop 22, located at 104 S. 6th in Clay Center.