Samantha Dawson and Brent Martin turned their fortunes around with a $30,000 winning Prize Lines scratch-off. |
An Anne Arundel County pair reports that it took most of a day for the winds of fortune to shift in their direction. When it did, the result was a $30,000 payday on a Prize Lines scratch-off.
“I didn’t believe him at first,” said co-winner Samantha Dawson. The 22-year-old had good reason for doubting her boyfriend Brent Martin’s declaration that their $3 scratch-off was a top-prize winner. The 23-year-old Odenton man had fooled her earlier that day by saying a $2 winning scratch-off was worth $50.
Their journey to a big win started with a trip to Ocean City that included a casino excursion. Brent lost about $300 playing casino games and Samantha lost about $200 before they called it quits. After that, however, Lady Luck helped things fall into place.
“I said I was feeling lucky,” Brent recalls. The couple, who met in high school nearly a decade ago, started dating only about eight months ago. Going over their plans for the rest of their day in Ocean City, the pair decided to go grocery shopping and swing by the boardwalk. Concerned about leaving groceries in a hot car, they first strolled along the Atlantic Ocean and then backtracked to Food Lion #397 at 9936 Stephen Decatur Highway in West Ocean City.
After buying groceries, Brent asked Samantha if she had any cash left. She had $16, so they bought a WILLY WONKA GOLDEN TICKET™ for $10 plus a $1 scratch-off, a $2 instant ticket and the lucky $3 Prize Lines scratch-off. They played the $10 game first and came up without a win. Next, they scratched off the $1 instant ticket. That’s when Brent told her they won $50 instead of the actual $2. Brent scratched off the other two games while alone and realized they really had won a big prize!
He tracked down Samantha to share his great news but, alas, she doubted him because of his earlier trickery. Showing her the lucky instant ticket helped his Crofton girlfriend realize the big win was no joke this time.
Going forward, the two have practical plans for their prize. Samantha, a preschool teacher, plans to pay off a credit card bill and put the balance of her share of the windfall into her savings. Brent, a maintenance mechanic, is on call and needs a reliable vehicle that is good in all types of weather. He plans to buy a four-wheel-drive vehicle to replace his aging Dodge Dart.
Food Lion also wins! For selling the top-prize winning scratch-off in the game, the grocery earns a bonus of $300, equal to 1 percent of the prize.