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North Beach woman claims $10,000 top prize
A Calvert County grocery store deli clerk is definitely in the green – and in the black – with her $10,000 Maryland Lottery scratch-off win on a 10x Cash ticket.
“Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!” said loyal scratch-off player Janet Custer of North Beach, as she claimed her prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore with North Beach friends Donald Wilkins and Stephanie Boothe in tow. “I always hit and get my money back to clear the cost of the tickets,” she said, adding, “this win puts me in the green!”
Janet plays a variety of scratch-offs and enjoys those with a poker theme. She selected the 10x Cash ticket at her favorite retailer because the ticket was new, having launched on Nov. 18. The $10 scratch-off carries more than 70 top prizes of $10,000 and more than $11 million in total prizes, with 10 chances to win on each ticket.
The Giant Food employee bought two tickets and began scratching away. She was unaccustomed to the ticket, which has players match numbers in rows to win and includes multipliers. “I lost on the two tickets and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll go back and get another one.’ ”
Janet took that ticket to her friend Donald Wilkins’ house. They and Stephanie often play darts and hang out. “I said, ‘Here we go’ and I scratched off two 28s in a row,” Janet said. She remembers telling Donald, “Oh, I got a pair! Let’s see how much this wins … $1,000, great!” She carefully used her fingernail to scratch several rows, revealing numbers one at a time and winning $1,000 in each row. Finally, the 45-year-old could not stand the suspense. “That’s when I got my coin out and scratched the whole thing,” she said. Every row was a winner!
Was she excited? “She’s going to have to patch the holes in my ceiling from jumping up and down,” Donald said.
Janet and Donald were so happy they called Stephanie, even though it was 11:30 p.m. Their friend rushed over to see the winning ticket with her own eyes. “You were faster than a hurricane,” Donald said, remembering that evening.
Janet plans to spend some of her winnings to install a tile floor in her living room and dining room. Her favorite retailer, who is also the seller of her lucky ticket, is the North Beach Fast Stop at 8834 Chesapeake Ave. in North Beach.