The odds of winning the McDonald’s Monopoly game are more difficult than winning Powerball or even a scratch-off lottery game.

East Stroudsburg resident Mark Ihde is very much aware of that and he knows what it's like to win a lottery — twice he’s won as much as $2,000 in Pennsylvania’s Cash 5 game.

Now, the 70-year-old retired heavy equipment operator is desperately looking for “Water Works,” the second half of a game piece he needs to claim a $10,000 prize that would net him the cash that would help him to “get the tax man off of my back for a couple of years.”

“If I can find someone with ‘Water Works’ we will have a winner because I already have ‘Electric Company’ and the rules state that if you have those two, you win $10,000,” said Ihde, who noted that he was forced to retire at age 52 because of an on-the-job injury.

In casting such a wide net in his search for the missing piece, Ihde said he wants everyone to know that he’ll happily and evenly split the winnings with anyone who comes forward with “Water Works.”

“I’d gladly split down the middle the $10,000. My school and property taxes are about $2,800 a year and if I won $5,000, it’ll pay for nearly two years of taxes and it’ll be two years where I don’t have to struggle to scrounge up the money to pay them,” he said.

Ihde said he obtained the “Electric Company” piece after a purchase he made Oct. 24 from McDonald’s on Lower Main Street in Stroudsburg.

With a deadline of Nov. 24 staring him in the face, Ihde said he’s desperately searching high and low to locate someone who may be in possession of the missing piece and who wouldn’t mind sharing the windfall.

“I don’t eat at McDonald’s a lot only because I can’t afford to and when I do eat there, it’s a treat,” he said.

“But I’ve been going in to McDonald’s regularly, especially when the restaurant is busy and I’ve been announcing to the crowds there that I have the utility company piece and that I’d share the winnings with anyone who might have the other piece.”

Ihde has checked in with local store managers at McDonald’s, asking that they keep a sharp eye and a listening ear out for someone who may have the missing treasure.

He’s even called a McDonald’s helpline seeking advice on how to locate the missing piece.

“They’ve been helpful, but it’s just so hard to win and I feel like I’m really close,” he said.

A spokeswoman at McDonald’s would only say that the company wishes all customers, including Ihde, the best in their pursuit of winning this year’s game, which began in September.

Customers enter the contest by purchasing certain items that come with collectible pull tabs that contain either a Monopoly property or an instant prize, which could include a car, hamburgers for a year or even cash.

The biggest prize of $1 million can be earned by collecting “Boardwalk” and “Park Place.”

The online publication Business Insider listed the odds of finding “Boardwalk” and “Park Place” at a staggering 1 in 3 billion, which are a lot greater odds than winning Powerball — which stands at 1 in 175 million.

For Ihde, he’s already overcome the 1 in 11 odds of collecting “Electric Company.” Now, he must hope that someone else has beaten the approximately 1 in 163,000 odds and have collected “Waterworks.”

Ihde said he doesn’t have a computer so he couldn’t search or post anything on the Internet about his quest.

“That’s why I came to (the Pocono Record). I know a lot of people read the newspaper and I’m hoping that someone will read this and realize them or someone they know have the other piece,” he said.

“It’s a win-win thing. We will both be happy. They’ll do what they need to do with their $5,000, and I’ll be OK with my taxes going forward.”

Note: If you have the "Water Works" piece, contact Record Editor Tom DeSchriver at 570-420-4358 or email newsroom@poconorecord.com