Claims $50,000 prize on scratch-off game
A 54-year-old Baltimore County woman knows the source of the St. Patrick’s Day Lottery luck that surprised her with a $50,000 scratch-off win. The professor at a local college, who plays Maryland Lottery scratch-offs infrequently, said a dream compelled her to play.
“My late mother popped into a dream a few days ago, which isn’t really that unusual for me,” the Parkville woman said. “But in this one, she kept saying ‘8’ to me. ‘8’ has always been a lucky number, so it stuck in my memory.”
The next morning on her way to work, with the dream fresh in her mind, the lucky woman stopped at the Quick Stop Food Mart at 3301 East Joppa Road. “The first thing I saw in the store was a game called Amazing 8s. I knew that this was why I was there.”
While scratching off her $5 ticket that afternoon, she was surprised to see that every one of her numbers matched the winning numbers.
“It was unreal,” she said. “Then, when I realized that it was a $50,000 winner, I got nauseous.” Despite the big prize, the calm teacher continued her day on campus. She interacted with students and co-workers without giving anyone a clue to her Lottery winner status.
“My mother always taught us to give, to be generous, with no expectation of reward. I’ve tried to follow that and found that the good almost always comes back to you, but I didn’t expect it like this.” Overcome with gratitude, the happy winner believes that her mom had a hand in her $50,000 win. “I know exactly who to thank for this.”
Amazing 8s, which debuted last June, has three more $50,000 top-prize winning tickets still in stores. There are also six $8,888 second-tier winners available along with thousands of prizes ranging from $5 to $1,000. To add to the “spooky” aspect of our Parkville woman’s story, the Maryland Lottery midday Pick 3 winning number on Thursday was 8-8-8!