Carroll County residents hit it big at Winfield Inn
A Sykesville couple won’t soon forget a recent date night at a Carroll County establishment where locals gather to enjoy American cuisine, talk with friends and play the Maryland Lottery’s fast-paced Keno game.
The parents of three usually play the same Keno numbers from week to week but on this Friday night, the wife selected quick pick. “We never spend more than $20 on Keno,” the husband said, and so they bought a $20 ticket with the eight-spot play and five draws. They didn’t pay attention to the drawings and the evening, initially, passed uneventfully. The 48-year-old husband had just returned home from a business trip to London and told his wife, “I’m tired. Let’s go to the house.” They asked the bartender, who they know well, to please check their ticket to see if they had won anything.
What happened next astonished both of them.
“The barmaid came back and whispered to my wife that she won $30,000,” the man said. After an initial outburst of happiness, he remembers, “my wife and the barmaid started to cry.” The sight of the muted celebration and the two weeping women drew attention from other Keno players, who merrily suggested to the pair that the next round was on them! Instead, the Carroll County residents quietly left and hid the ticket at home in a drawer. It wasn’t until Monday, when they researched how to claim their prize on the Lottery’s website and called the Lottery to ask for help, that they realized the win was double the amount they originally thought.
An employee of a construction contractor in Lanham, the husband worried about leaving the ticket in the drawer all weekend. “I carried it around in my pocket in a plastic bag,” he said, smiling.
His 51-year-old spouse, who enjoys playing Lottery scratch-offs and jackpot games as well as Keno, has a relatively new job working for an eye specialist in Columbia and couldn’t accompany him to collect the prize. They are not sure how they will spend their winnings, he said.
To see where their good fortune occurred, head for Winfield Inn at 1616 West Old Liberty Road in Sykesville.