Irene and Bob Dudek of Edgewater celebrate their $30,000 Crossword scratch-off win. |
Crossword game delivers top prize
Irene Dudek returned home from a grocery-shopping excursion with plenty of green – $30,000, to be exact! The 69-year-old merchandiser from Edgewood got the shock of her life after she put away her items and started playing her Maryland Lottery Crossword scratch-offs.
Luckily for Irene, she added several Crossword scratch-offs to the grocery purchases she and Bob, her husband of 50 years, made at Food Lion #1547 in Edgewood.
“At first, when I realized I won, I just could not believe it,” she said. “I initially thought I had won only $5,000 but when I went to scan the ticket at a store nearby, I was told to come straight to Lottery headquarters. That’s when I went from shock to just disbelief. This is so awesome!”
The $30,000 top-prize win was a welcome surprise for the happy wife, who said she plans to take Bob out to celebrate. She also plans to use some of the prize to get him something nice for his approaching birthday.
“I’ll never forget the first gift my wife got me,” said Bob. “It was a Ouija board but I expected something like that. My birthday is on April 1.”
Also celebrating in the win is the lucky Lottery retailer. Food Lion #1547 located at 2250 Hanson Road in Edgewood earns a $300 bonus for selling the top-prize scratch-off in the $3 game. Plenty of prizes remain, including seven more top prizes and thousands of others ranging from $3 to $5,000.