“Winning Cousins” who root for different professional football teams scored a $20,000 win playing the $2 Ravens scratch-off game. |
$2 game gives ‘Winning Cousins’ a top prize
Although two cousins root for rival professional football teams, they came together to cheer a victorious top-prize win on a Maryland Lottery Ravens scratch-off. One cousin is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan while the other woman cheers on the Baltimore Ravens home team.
The Baltimore residents, who were planning a trip to Philadelphia for a family weekend getaway, decided they should purchase scratch-offs before hitting the road.
The Steelers fan had already bought instant tickets at New Greenmount Market in Baltimore and had $1 in change. The Ravens fan gave her another $1 and urged her to purchase a $2 Ravens scratch-off. She did and the duo went home, where they began scratching the instant tickets while packing the car for their trip.
A delay of game occurred when the 33-year-old Ravens fan started scratching the Ravens instant ticket.
“I scratched the winning numbers first and then my numbers,” she said. “I froze when I saw the ‘B’ symbol and the prize under that was $1,000.” The Steelers fan grabbed the ticket next. “I wanted to see for myself,” she said. “Then, I scratched the rest of the ticket.”
Taking her time to reveal each spot on the game, the lucky lady soon realized that every spot was either a “B” symbol or a matching winning number.
“I started screaming when I saw the first $5,000 prize,” said the 42-year-old Steelers fan, who works in insurance. The Ravens fan, who is employed at a nursing home, choked up when she saw the win. “When we finished, we saw all of the winning prizes equaled $20,000,” said the Ravens fan. “I couldn’t breathe.”
After the “Winning Cousins” calmed down a bit, they hid the lucky scratch-off under a bed. They then headed to Philadelphia and had a “wonderful trip.” Through the whole weekend, one thing was on their mind. “We were dreaming and thinking about that $20,000 winning ticket,” the women said.
The “Winning Cousins” said that since they won as a team, they wanted to claim the prize as a team. They did so early Monday morning.
The mothers of one son each plan to use the prize to pay bills and help family members.
The lucky retailer, New Greenmount Market located at 1913 Greenmount Avenue, is a winner, too. For selling a top-prize scratch-off in the $2 game, the Baltimore store earns a $200 bonus from the Lottery.
There are still lots of prizes remaining on the $2 Ravens scratch-off, including seven more $20,000 top prizes and seven $5,000 prizes. And, if your $2 or $5 Ravens scratch-offs are non-winners, you can still win by entering them into the Ravens second-chance contest through My Lottery Rewards. Win season tickets for 20 years, cash and 2018 season tickets. Visit ravens.mdlottery.com for details.