Claims third jackpot of 2018
The Maryland Lottery’s Multi-Match game is on fire! The in-state game delivered its third jackpot of 2018 to a 58-year-old Frederick woman who buys games every Monday after work for the two drawings each week.
On June 4, Linda Cleveland followed her routine and purchased tickets at Festival Major Liquors for the June 4 and June 7 Multi-Match drawings. She returned home and the week came and went. She rarely watches the drawings, said the loyal player. Instead, she scans her tickets for winners at the store on Mondays and then buys tickets for the upcoming week.
What a wonderful surprise awaited her!
“I scanned the ticket and it said it was a winner, but I thought, ‘This can’t be right,’ ” Linda said, smiling at the memory. “When I went to the cashier, she confirmed it was a $700,000 winning ticket!”
The cancer research biologist is floating on Cloud 9! Linda let the terminal pick two lines of numbers on the ticket and used her “lucky” numbers for a third line. She hit the jackpot on one of the quick-pick lines!
“When I checked the (Lottery) website and read the press release about the winning ticket being sold in Frederick, I just couldn’t believe it was talking about me,” Linda said.
The happy player texted her sister to share news of her Lottery luck. She didn’t tell her other siblings, though, before claiming the prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. Linda has big plans for her winnings: updating her kitchen and buying a new car. She chose the cash option for the $700,000 jackpot, which was $334,864 before taxes.
Also a big winner is the lucky Frederick County retailer. Festival Major Liquors located at 446 Prospect Boulevard in Frederick earned a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.