Claims first progressive top prize on Cold Hard Cash game
A Baltimore woman can thank another Maryland Lottery player for her big $114,778 win on the FAST PLAY Cold Hard Cash game. The lucky 53-year-old had not played a Lottery game in many years and had never played FAST PLAY until she overheard a conversation.
“They were talking about this game and I thought, ‘That’s interesting,’” said the winner, “so, I bought one of them.”
“FAST PLAY Newbie,” as she is calling herself for Lottery publicity, didn’t even know there are 16 FAST PLAY games. She just asked for one and the clerk at Mel’s Liquors in Jessup sold her a ticket in the $10 Cold Hard Cash progressive prize game.
“I didn’t know how to play it. I just put it in my purse and went home,” said “FAST PLAY Newbie.” “I looked at it and handed it to my husband, who confirmed I won by scanning the ticket on the Lottery app on his phone.”
The winner then put the ticket away and went on the Lottery’s website to see what to do next. She claimed the $114,778 prize in person after making an appointment to do so.
The mother of two adult children, “FAST PLAY Newbie” still has one child in college. She plans to use some of her winnings toward that child’s college tuition and to pay her off her own student loans. “It will definitely make things easier,” she said.
This is the first win of 40 progressive top prizes in the Cold Hard Cash game, which went on sale Nov. 2. The progressive top prize starts at $100,000 and increases with the sale of each ticket until a progressive top prize-winning ticket is sold. This game still has more than one million other prizes, too, ranging from $10 to $50,000.
The retailer that sold the winning ticket, Mel’s Liquors, is located at 7915 Waterloo Road in Jessup. The Howard County business also has reason to celebrate. For selling the winning top-prize ticket, the store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery.