2021-05-10 15:41:23.733

Rebecca Kleinkauf and her kids moved to Missouri a year and a half ago for a fresh start and have been staying in Strafford while saving up to buy a home. That may be easier to do now that she’s won a $100,000 prize on a Missouri Lottery Scratchers game.

Kleinkauf likes to play the $20 tickets, first scratching just the numbers, hoping to see a symbol for an instant win. After scratching all the numbers on a “Gold Rush” Scratchers ticket, she realized several of the numbers she had uncovered were repeats. At that point, she expected to win around $100.

Then she scratched off the prizes.

“The first prize I scratched off was $5,000,” she said. “I didn’t know how to take it.”

Kleinkauf went inside the Kum & Go where she purchased the ticket – 125 S. State Highway 125 in Strafford – and asked a clerk to scan her ticket to confirm it was a winner.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Girl, you just won $100,000!’”

“For me, it’s just a dream come true,” she added. “I can’t even believe it. I’m still gobsmacked.”

In FY20, players in Greene County won more than $45.3 million in Missouri Lottery prizes and retailers received more than $4.3 million in commissions and bonuses. More than $22.4 million in Lottery proceeds went to education programs in the county.