Clothes Hanger Shopping Trip Leads to $50,000 Scratch-off Win

Happy “Mom-Mom” of Baltimore found the first top prize on the new Hot Riches game.

Doing laundry on a steamy summer weeknight put a Baltimore woman on the path to a cool $50,000 Maryland Lottery scratch-off win. Her decision to avoid using the clothes dryer on a hot summer evening paid off when she went shopping for clothes hangers, bought a Hot Riches scratch-off along the way and found its sizzling top prize.

“I still can’t believe this,” said the lucky woman. “I didn’t think this could ever happen to me. This is a great way to start off the weekend!”

Nicknamed “Mom-Mom,” the winner was doing laundry during the recent heat wave when she realized she needed more clothes hangers to air dry the laundry. She jumped into her car to go hanger shopping and detoured to Battle Grove Democratic Club, one of her favorite Baltimore Lottery retailers, to test her luck playing Keno.

The 60-year-old decided to add a $5 scratch-off to her Keno purchase. “Mom-Mom” picked the newest scratch-off they had, which was the Hot Riches game that went on sale across the state on June 25. “Mom-Mom” anxiously scratched off the instant ticket and noticed that her “numbers” matched the “winning numbers.” She immediately thought, “Oh great, I think I made my money back!” Mom-Mom actually did quite a lot better than that! She is the first player to claim one of the game’s eight top prizes.

“Mom-Mom” plans to save her windfall to buy something special in the future. Battle Grove Democratic Club at 7900 New Battle Grove Rd. in Baltimore will earn a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.