For Spindale’s Debra Taylor, a case of nerves got calmed by a $100,000 lottery win after playing Crossword Money Multiplier.

On Tuesday, Taylor stopped for gas and a $5 Crossword Money Multiplier ticket at Deb’s Mini Mart on East Main Street in Spindale. After she scratched off the ticket in the parking lot, she knew she’d won, but wasn’t sure how much. The cashier scanned the ticket and told her to take it to the regional claims center in Asheville. For the next 60 miles, Taylor’s nerves got the best of her as she wondered how big the prize might be.

“Do you know how much you won?” the representative asked her when she arrived.

“I think $100,000,” Taylor said.

“You’re right,” the representative replied, putting Taylor’s mind at ease.

Taylor made another trip – this time to lottery headquarters in Raleigh – to claim her prize Thursday. “I’m a little calmer today,” she said.

She plans to use her after-tax winnings of $69,251 to pay off bills and make improvements to her home.

Crossword Money Multiplier launched in January with eight top prizes of $100,000. Two remain unclaimed.

Ticket sales from games like Crossword Money Multiplier made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million dollars for the state last year. For details on how more than $25.7 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Rutherford County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.