Gaithersburg Couple Loses Sleep, Gains $50,000

Lucky winners can’t sleep after winning prize on Royal Gems scratch-off ticket

232-Royal-Gems-ITVM_P1-purpleIt had been a busy 12 hours for a Gaithersburg couple by the time they arrived at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore on the morning of Dec. 4. They had a night full of excitement and very little sleep after winning $50,000 instantly.

After dropping his wife off at a friend’s house on Dec. 3, our winner, a 63-year-old ear, nose & throat specialist, stopped in at the 7-Eleven at 26344 Ridge Road in Damascus to pick out a Lottery ticket.

“My wife and I had noticed earlier in the week that the Royal Gems game had two $1 million top prize winners still available,” he said. “I hoped the store had ‘em and they did.”

Upon returning home later that evening the couple scratched their ticket.

“There was dancing. There was screaming. There was jumping up and down. You should have seen us,” the father of two and grandfather of five said. “It was quite a scene.”

The excitement of the $50,000 win kept both of them awake all night.

“We were just too excited to sleep,” he said, adding that they spent the time deciding how to make use of their winnings.

“Bills, of course, and then Christmas – our family is in for a very happy holiday,” he said, adding that the 7-Eleven on Ridge Road in Damascus is now the couple’s Lottery store of choice.

“We plan to be back here again,” they said.

The $20 Royal Gems ticket launched in September and two of its $1 million prizes that caught our winners’ attention are still waiting to be found. There are also four more $50,000 winners available to keep you up all night when you find one.