Loyal Maryland Lottery player follows a lucky feeling
Playing a complicated set of numbers that hold personal significance led to a financial blessing for a lucky Randallstown resident. She won $50,000 by following her hunch to choose Bonus Match 5 as her game of the day.
She bases her number-selection system on her two adult children, using the number 2, their birth dates and how old they were when significant events occurred in their lives. The mother of two carries her lucky numbers with her and chooses between playing Bonus Match 5, Pick 3, Pick 4, Powerball and scratch-off games. She’s won $10,000 before but never an amount this large.
On this fateful day, the health care worker “had a feeling” that Bonus Match 5 was her game. She stopped at her lucky store and picked her numbers.
“I remember I came home from work so tired and I took a nap,” the woman said. “Then, something said, ‘Wake up.’ I did and I looked at the TV screen and the Bonus Match 5 numbers appeared. I said to myself, ‘They look very familiar.’ ”
She didn’t do anything though, or say anything, until one daughter asked her about her numbers. The widow quietly remarked that she might have won $50,000 and her daughter quickly got the ticket, checked the numbers and excitedly verified the win. “I am so very, very thankful,” the woman said.
“I immediately signed the ticket and hid it away,” the 65-year-old said. She hid the ticket with some of her late husband’s belongings for the 10 days it took for her to come to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. “He kept it safe!”
They have not told anyone about the win. Her lucky store, though, posted a sign in the window announcing that it sold a winning Bonus Match 5 ticket. The store’s clerks were reminding their regular Lottery customers to check their tickets in hopes of finding the winner. “When I saw the sign in the window, I knew it was me,” the woman said, enjoying her secret win.
During the time it took to bring her winning ticket to the Lottery, she decided on several ways to spend the money. She is considering retirement after 40+ years on the job. She also plans to pay a few bills, donate to charity and make some home repairs. “I’m going to spread it out,” she said.
Lady Luck crossed our winner’s path at Kim’s R.P. Liquors, trading as Randallstown Plaza Liquors at 3619 Offutt Road in Randallstown.