By the time 29000 was drawn for Pick 5 on the evening of Oct. 15, a Maryland Lottery player from Washington, D.C. had already seen the combination twice, which is what prompted her to play it multiple times and win more than $250,000.
In addition to playing the combination five times for $1 each, she also purchased several 50 cent boxed bet tickets and ended up giving those away to family and friends, she said Oct. 20 when she claimed the main $250,000 prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.
“I’m just trying to help people,” she said.
She recalls watching the news and seeing an airplane with the number 29000 emblazoned on it. A few days later, she bought a pack of cashews as a snack, and there it was again: the code 29000 was on the package.
“I almost never buy cashews,” she said.
Acting on the coincidence, she played the combination – and won big.
The winner works at a daycare center and says the big win won’t change that. Mainly she’s looking to repeat the actions she took after winning $80,000 playing the D.C. Lottery a few years ago. With that windfall, she remodeled her kitchen. This time around, she and her husband have a few household upgrades planned.
No trips or other celebrations, however, are on the horizon.
“I can sit on my porch with my husband and talk and it’s like taking a trip,” she said, noting that the two were childhood sweethearts.
The winning tickets were purchased at the BP gas station at 4501 Eastern Avenue in Mount Rainier, which receives a bonus of $2,500.
