A Silver Spring woman’s longtime Pick 5 numbers came through in a big way on Sept. 27, winning her $100,000.
The security specialist, who claimed her windfall Oct. 14 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, has been playing the same numbers consistently for years because they hold special meaning to her. She played her trusted combination on two $1 bet tickets for the midday and evening drawings on Sept. 27, and ended up with two $50,000 prizes when 62626 was drawn that evening.
The winner purchased both tickets at State Line Market at 7817 Eastern Avenue in Silver Spring; the store receives bonuses totaling $1,000.
She usually checks Lottery results early in the morning, but this time the busy workday got in the way so her checking didn’t happen until the following evening on her way home from work.
When she opened the Maryland Lottery app and recognized her numbers, excitement took over.
“I had to pull over,” she said.
She pulled both tickets from her purse and compared them to the results on her phone, wanting to make sure she had played the numbers for both the midday and evening drawings. She had, and that evening match put the big win in her pocket.
Once she confirmed that both tickets were winners, the reality of her $100,000 payday began to sink in.
“I said, ‘Good God Almighty!’” she recalled.
The winner called her son to share the news. He was already familiar with her longtime numbers, which include his birthday, and was thrilled to hear that they had finally paid off.
“I told him, ‘I got ’em,’” she recalled.
Her son congratulated her and reminded her that the win was well deserved.
“Mom, you deserve it,” he told her.
She plans to invest some of her winnings and put a portion toward home improvement projects. When she is not working, she enjoys watching movies and shopping.
After years of sticking with her special numbers, the player says she will keep playing. She has $100,000 worth of reasons to keep believing in them.
