TRENTON (June 9, 2025) – Regardless of the time of day, there always seems to be a bottleneck somewhere on New Jersey roads, whether it is on the Parkway or residential streets. The more patient among Garden State drivers are able to avoid confrontation. For those drivers, it is worth knowing that the meek do indeed inherit the Earth, or at least a big payday.

Such is the case of one veteran of New Jersey’s road woes, who ended up with a $600,000 Colossal Crossword top prize as a reward.

The traffic on Tuesday, June 3, was like any day in Essex County. The player was cutting across lower Essex County managing errands before a backlogged road stalled plans.

“I was on Valley Street in South Orange. There was a car stopped there. And I was just waiting. I honked. Rather than moving, (the driver) just sat there and I could tell he was glaring at me. I did not want the drama, so I decided to pull into the 7-11 that was right there. I said to myself ‘Let me go get a lottery ticket.’”

Drama of a much more positive kind ensued. The player went in and bought a Pick-3, a Pick-4 and a $30 Colossal Crossword Scratch-Off. The two draw games paid off nicely, winning a combined sum topping $100. However, it was the Scratch-Off that made all the difference. “I couldn’t see the words at first. Then I saw I got, three…four and kept going. When I got to seven, I couldn’t breathe.” After reaching the top-prize winning 10 words, the player still did not believe and scanned the card on a mobile phone’s app. That is when reality set in.

“I’m thankful to the person that caused me to stop,” the player said. “In chaos, there’s a blessing.”

The player had experienced other blessings recently past, winning prizes of $5,000, $1,000 and $700 during the past few months. But nothing like this.

“Maybe six months ago, I had a dream that I was going to win in the Colossal Crossword. So I started buying that. But, if it hadn’t been for that other car, I woudn’t have stopped.”

The $600,000 is a life-changing sum, and it came at a perfect time.

“I’m at the point where it’s really great to be able to eliminate my debts and help my kids a little.”

More About the New Jersey Lottery

Since its inception in 1970, the Lottery has contributed nearly $33.7 billion to the State, helping to support many worthwhile programs and services. Lottery profits currently help bolster the public employee pension system under a 30-year agreement signed into law in 2017.