Wins final top prize on Black scratch-off ticket
Just in time for Christmas, a Baltimore woman scratched her way to a $1 million top prize on the Black scratch-off ticket. Although she’s had the winning ticket for a couple weeks, the lucky winner arrived at Lottery headquarters to claim the prize on Dec. 23.
Immediately after purchasing the ticket at Plaza Liquors in Baltimore, the 60-year-old scanned the scratch-off on the ticket checker, before scratching it. She saw the message that she’d been waiting for her whole life, “Cash at Lottery,” which meant that the ticket was too large to claim at the retailer.
“I asked the clerk to check it and he said the same thing,” she said. “I quickly took the ticket home and scratched it there. I started crying right away when I saw the $1 million prize.”
Next, the winner did exactly what the Lottery recommends to anyone holding a winning ticket: She signed the back of the ticket and put it in a safe place – a safe deposit box, to be exact.
“I told some members of my family, but I am going to surprise the rest on Christmas Day,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to wear my ‘I’m a Winner’ shirt and put a picture of the winning ticket in a wrapped box.”
The lucky winner, a receptionist at a local business, has plans for her prize. In addition to sharing her good fortune with her family, the generous woman is going to pay to replace a stained glass window at her church. The rest will go in the bank.
The Black ticket launched in November of 2014, and now all three of its $1 million top prizes have been claimed. For selling the winning ticket, Plaza Liquors, located at 5722 Wabash Avenue in Baltimore, will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery.