AP
 
Minot, Jul 31:  Oh, no !  Don't forget the exclamation point ! It could cost you $1,000 !

Kevin Taylor, 30, of Minneapolis, lost out on a $1,000 first prize in a text messaging contest at the North Dakota State Fair because he forgot the punctuation mark at the end of a phrase that he and his sudden-death competitor had to enter.

So he settled for $200.

Beth Brevik, 32, of Minot, ended up with the big prize at the contest, tapping out the phrase: "I hope I win the grand prize of $1,000 so I can buy a new phone. Whoo!"

"I was very lucky," she said.

Brevik and Taylor finished ahead of 38 competitors, many of them teenagers. Organisers said the contest was patterned after a similar event in New York, where a 13-year-old girl won $50,000.

Phrases were posted on a screen that contestants text-messaged to the judges, who verified the answers for accuracy. The contest was sponsored by a cellphone company.

Brevik said she thought she lost when Taylor put his phone down in the final round. Seconds later, Taylor realized his mistake and exclaimed, "Oh, no !"