TRENTON, NJ – Players of New Jersey’s Colossal Crossword and Crossword Bonanza scratch-off games hit it big last week, claiming top prizes totaling $1 million in multiple jackpot wins.
On Dec. 16, a Colossal Crossword ticket purchased at Krauszer’s on North Broadway in South Amboy, Middlesex County, delivered its $600,000 top prize to one lucky player. Just a day earlier, another player secured the same game’s top prize with a ticket bought at a 7-Eleven on South Summit Avenue in Hackensack, Bergen County. Only one top prize remains for Colossal Crossword.
Adding to the excitement, the final $400,000 top prize in the Crossword Bonanza scratch-off game was claimed on Dec. 20. The winning ticket was purchased at Garden State News on Broadway in Bayonne, Hudson County, marking the end of top-tier prizes for that game.
One Hackensack winner described their moment of realization, saying, “At first, I thought I won $500. Then I kept finding more words, and it grew to $10,000. At that point, I was in shock.” The player added that the slow reveal made the experience all the more thrilling.
Since its launch in 1970, the New Jersey Lottery has contributed nearly $33.7 billion to the state, with profits supporting programs such as the public employee pension system under a 30-year agreement established in 2017.