Cat Lover Scratches Her Way to a $20,000 Win

This “Lucky Cat Lady” from West Virginia won a $20,000 top prize playing the Scrabble scratch-off game.

Plays popular Scrabble game and brings home top prize

Every Monday, a West Virginia woman and her sister stop by the Williamsport Sunoco in Western Maryland specifically to purchase scratch-offs. The 65-year-old lover of cats and extended play games chose a $1 scratch-off, a $5 bingo game and a $2 Scrabble game while her sister selected her games. The two then headed outside to their car to play their scratch-offs in the store parking lot.

The “Lucky Cat Lady,” as she described herself, began to scratch off letter by letter on the Scrabble game in hopes of revealing a full word. “I knew what I wasn’t going to get was an ‘L,’ ” said the winner. That one letter is what she needed to spell out the word “employee” to win the game’s top prize. Her sister added, “Well, someone has to get it.”

An “L” is exactly what she found as she finished her reveal, giving her a purrfect $20,000 prize. “I just knew it must be a mistake,” she said. After verifying the ticket at a few retailer locations, the sisters agreed the prize was real. “Lucky Cat Lady” then happily shared her great news with her husband and parents.

The sisters pounced on the opportunity to claim the big prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore the day after the big win. The great-grand mother and owner of more than 10 cats already has plans for the winnings. She will share some of the prize with her family and her church and save the rest. The fortunate player also plans to buy a few special things for her furry friends.

The sisters’ favorite Lottery retailer, Williamsport Sunoco, is located at 304 E. Potomac Street in Williamsport. The Washington County store will receive a $200 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize scratch-off in the Scrabble game.