She is first big winner on $1 Million Royale game
An Anne Arundel County resident who picks scratch-offs based on their odds of winning ignored her strategy recently and won $50,000 on a $1 Million Royale instant ticket.
The lucky lady said she is very selective, playing scratch-offs with the highest probability for winning a top prize or second-tier prize. The Annapolis woman said she didn’t like the odds for the $1 Million Royale game and had no intention of buying that scratch-off until she went into Broadneck Exxon at 317 Busch’s Frontage Road in Annapolis.
“The clerk said the game was brand new so I knew the odds were high that there were no big winners yet,” she said.
This new strategy, playing a game with lots of unclaimed top prizes, worked! She is the first $50,000 winner on this $20 game. Six of seven top prizes of $1 million are still unclaimed and six $50,000 prizes remain available.
The loyal player took the game home and scanned it using her Maryland Lottery app to discover her big win.
“I scanned it three times to make sure I had won,” said the 63-year-old.
Then came the excitement of calling her husband, who was helping their daughter. She told him she didn’t want their kids to know about the win and he responded that it was too late. Their daughter was near the phone when she announced her news.
“We won’t be able to share this one,” the mom said. She added, with a smile, “Hopefully, we can add a decimal point to the next win so we can help them out.”
The $1 Million Royale game has been the second most popular scratch-off since it went on sale on July 17. This game also has 78 available $10,000 prizes and 103 $5,000 prizes, along with others ranging from $20 to $1,000.
