Margaret Coursey, of Centreville, made a wish on a shooting star to win Powerball, but ended up with a $640,000 Multi-Match jackpot instead. Husband John was at her side when she claimed her winnings.
“I didn’t see it coming,” said Margaret Coursey of her recent brush with good fortune. She won $640,000 playing Multi-Match in the Dec. 22 drawing. She was hoping for a Powerball win, as the jackpot at the time was in excess of $1 billion, but Multi-Match was the game that delivered her six-digit score.
Margaret, who owns a painting company, was out for a pre-holiday lunch with her employees on that day in December. Following the gathering, she was driving along a country road by herself when a shooting star caught her eye. Immediately, she made a wish to win the Powerball jackpot, which was at $1.6 billion.
“I bought a few Powerball tickets that morning and just one Multi-Match ticket,” Margaret said Jan. 6 when she claimed the prize, husband at her side. “I like Multi-Match because the odds are better, even thought the jackpots aren’t that high.” The decision to hedge her bets paid off – though the wish upon a shooting star probably didn’t hurt.
The Centreville player realized the next day she had won when she scanned her tickets using the Maryland Lottery app on her phone.
“It was the last ticket I checked,” she said. “I’ll never forget when I saw that message that said to go to Lottery headquarters. I knew it was something big!”
She checked her ticket more thoroughly and saw that the third row on her ticket matched the six numbers drawn the previous night, 6, 8, 17, 29, 34 and 43. In shock, she called her husband and gave him the news.
“I said to her, “What does that mean?’” said the winner’s husband, John, who accompanied her to claim the prize. “She said, “It means I won $640,000!’”
Nervous, the couple was faced with a dilemma. They had planned a holiday vacation and didn’t know what to do in light of the windfall.
“We were trying to decide if we should go, what to do with the ticket if we did, or just cancel,” she said.
After seeking guidance on what to do if you’re a big winner, Margaret signed the back of the ticket, locked it in a safe and tried to enjoy her vacation, knowing $640,000 was waiting for her back at home.
She said the biggest decision was whether to take the annuity payments option, or a single lump sum. They decided on the one-time payment option. Margaret said she’ll use some of the winnings to pay off her car and will invest the rest.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Royal Farms store at 105 Clay Drive in Queenstown. The store receives a $1,000 bonus.
