Scratch-off fan Cynthia Dashiell found the first $50,000 top prize on a Deluxe Crossword instant ticket. |
When Cynthia Dashiell of Dundalk sits down with Maryland Lottery scratch-offs, she usually enjoys playing the game from beginning to end. The key word is “usually.”
“I enjoy the suspense,” said the 58-year-old after claiming the first $50,000 top prize in the newly launched green Deluxe Crossword scratch-off. “I do a variety of them. I do enjoy my scratch-offs!”
She found her lucky game on a trip to her regular Lottery play site, Quick Mart in Dundalk. The scratch-off fan followed her routine when she started playing the $5 game. She went through the process of uncovering the ups and downs of words in her puzzles and rechecking her letters.
“I started to get tired,” Cynthia recalls. Halfway through the game, the weary woman quit playing and scanned the ticket’s prize check image. The $50,000 winner message woke her up! “I started going back and checking the words,” she said.
The Maryland native also plays Bonus Match 5 and Multi-Match, saying she prefers them because they are Maryland-only games. While she has won $1,000 prizes twice before and several memorable $500 and $50 scores, the $50,000 Deluxe Crossword win is her biggest to date.
Cynthia plans to use the proceeds from her big payday to pay off her car loan and improve her home. “I had just been talking, ‘I’ve got to get that bathroom done,’ ” she said. The happy mom also plans to surprise her children. “I’ll treat ’em!”
Also enjoying a bit of luck is retailer Quick Mart located at 300 Trappe Road. The store earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize scratch-off in the game. The bonus is equal to 1 percent of the prize.
Plenty of prizes remain in the green version of the Deluxe Crossword game, which arrived at Lottery retailers on Aug. 24. The scratch-off still has eight unclaimed top prizes of $50,000, 19 $10,000 prizes and thousands of others ranging from $5 to $1,000.