 This happy Western Maryland woman won $50,000 in the Jan. 13 Powerball drawing. |
’Lucky Mom’ among state’s 24 third-tier winners in historic Jan. 13 drawing
Cashing in a $100 winning scratch-off ticket put a Frostburg mom in the right place at the right time to buy one of Maryland’s $50,000 winning Powerball tickets in the Jan. 13 drawing.
Although the mother of one didn’t win the world-record $1.6 billion jackpot, she was more than happy to have one of the state’s 24 $50,000 winning tickets. Three Marylanders won $1 million and one won $100,000. Winners in Florida, Tennessee and California shared the historic jackpot.
“I never dreamed anything like this could happen,” said the 41-year-old, who claimed her prize with her son and her fiancé.
She had cashed in a $100 winning scratch-off at Lil Corner Market at 217 E. Main St. in Frostburg the day of the big Powerball drawing and bought two $10 Quick Pick Powerball tickets. About half an hour after the 11 p.m. drawing, she was on the second floor of the family’s home and sent her fiancé a text message asking him to “bring the tickets up, please.”
“I thought, ‘She’s just excited, I’ll run them up to her,’” he said. To his surprise, she had good reason for excitement. Together, they reviewed the tickets and she thought they had matched three white balls and the Power Ball. Then, he spotted the fourth matching number and knew they’d won $50,000! Sleep was out of the question until 3:30 a.m., our winner said.
“I’ve gotta be dreaming,” she remembers thinking as the hours dragged by. “There’s gotta be a hitch.”
After verifying the win the next day, the Allegany County couple hid their lucky ticket in a Tupperware container on top of their kitchen cabinets until they could come to Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim the prize. She plans to spend the windfall on improvements to their 100-year-old home, such as installing new windows, while her fiancé plans to pay off his truck.