Three with local ties win lottery competition

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Three of the top five winners of Missouri Lottery's "Design-A- Ticket" contest have Southeast Missouri ties.

Designs by Terry Boyers of Morley, Mo., Allen Thompson of Dexter, Mo., and former Matthews, Mo., resident Angie Roberts Cain of Desloge, Mo., were selected as winners in the online voting contest. The other two winners were from Lesterville, Mo., and Columbia, Mo.

The contest solicited $1 Scratchers ticket design ideas from Jan. 2 through Feb. 2.

The lottery received nearly 1,000 entries that were narrowed to 20 finalists by a panel of experts. Each of the 20 finalists received $200 worth of Scratchers tickets.

Cain's "Dream Scratcher" design featured the moon and clouds in the sky with scratch-off stars. Boyers called her camping-themed design, "The Great Missouri Outdoors." Thompson, who was unavailable for an interview, designed a ticket in the shape of a cell phone with scratch-off buttons. His entry was named "Calling For Cash."

The winning designs were drawn electronically. Thompson, a retired railroad worker, and Boyers, a forklift operator, said they have no background in art. Cain creates cartoon panels and children's murals for day cares and businesses. Currently, she's in the process of illustrating some children's books, she said.

"We thought the contest was a huge success first of all because of the response of entries and the number of votes we received," said Breanne Gibson, Web coordinator for Missouri Lottery. More than 7,000 votes -- members could vote up to five times -- were cast.

"The exciting thing about the five winners is these tickets are all unique. We don't have any tickets that look like these," Gibson said. While currently there are no plans to turn to the designs into actual lottery tickets, it's always a possibility, Gibson said.