Hotel employee claims $100,000 top prize
On the way home from a trip to the grocery store on Saturday, a Baltimore couple decided to visit a Maryland Lottery retailer to play Racetrax, which was their (then) favorite game. That decision put them in the exact right place at the exact right time for an All The Money scratch-off (their current favorite game) to brighten their weekend considerably.
“There were a few Lottery retailers on our way so my fiancé asked me to pick,” said the 56-year-old woman who claimed their $100,000 prize at Lottery headquarters. “For no particular reason, I chose the first one we came to, the Shell station on Edmondson Avenue.” Having played several Racetrax games with mixed results, the hospital employee decided to play one more.
“I was walking to the counter when my fiancé stepped right up in front of me – he was looking at the monitor and didn’t even realize that he’d cut me off.” With an extra minute to wait to play her horses, her eyes wandered to the store’s instant ticket display.
“I decided to get one and picked the first $10 ticket I saw.” It turns out that instant ticket – All The Money – would make her additional time in line well worth it.
At first unhappy to find just one match on her scratch-off, her mood changed quickly when she revealed the corresponding match. “I saw the $100,000 and couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I waved my fiancé over to see. We both played it pretty cool — no reaction.”
Scanning the ticket with his Lottery App, the fiancé looked at her and, with only a hint of a smile, nodded. “We let it out once we got home,” she said. “We had lots of cocktails, lots of yelling.”
The couple plans to pay bills and go on a long-overdue vacation with their All The Money winnings. Their lucky Lottery retailer, who receives a $1,000 bonus for selling a $100,000 top-prize scratch-off, is Village Shell at 4598 Edmondson Avenue in Baltimore. All The Money debuted in September and still has four $100,000 top prizes available.