“Just for Fun” of Silver Spring plans to keep playing Maryland Lottery games after winning $30,000 playing a Diamond Bingo scratch-off. |
Diamond Bingo scratch-off winner plays ‘just for fun’
Winning $30,000 after playing Maryland Lottery games for at least 30 years is a reason to celebrate but not a reason for a Silver Spring woman to reconsider her hobby.
After claiming her prize Dec. 19 at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, the winner nicknamed “Just for Fun” said of playing scratch-offs: “I don’t party, I don’t drink. That’s what I do for me.”
Her “just-for-fun” activity led to a $30,000 top-prize win on the $3 Diamond Bingo game. In addition to playing scratch-offs, the Montgomery County resident also likes to play the twice-daily Pick 4 game. “That’s my favorite,” she said. Over the years, the 52-year-old has won “a couple bucks here and there” but nothing approaching her $30,000 payday. The winner plans to spend some of her windfall on bills but will wait to make decisions about her other options.
Does she attribute her win to a secret strategy? “Just for Fun” says, “That was just chance and luck!” She went into 7-Eleven #11577 at 15539 New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring and bought two $5 scratch-offs, both of which were non-winners. (That is, non-winners so far because “Just for Fun” participates in the My Lottery Rewards second-chance program that turns non-winning scratch-offs into chances to win cash and prizes.) She went back and picked up two more instant tickets at the $3 level. The lucky $3 Diamond Bingo game gave her the big win.
For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off, the 7-Eleven store shares in “Just for Fun’s” luck by picking up a $300 bonus from the Lottery. The bonus is equal to 1 percent of her prize.
There are still two more $30,000 top prizes available on the Diamond Bingo game, along with nearly 3,000 prizes at the $100, $500 and $1,000 level. The game went on sale July 22.