Baltimore man wins first top prize on new scratch-off game
Over the river and through the woods, to grandma’s house we go! A routine trip to visit his grandma and help her run errands put a Baltimore player on a collision path with Lottery luck. The 22-year-old found the first $100,000 top prize on the Maryland Lottery’s new $100,000 Crossword game.
“I didn’t think this was real, couldn’t believe it,” he said.
The winner and his father made the trip together to help their relative. While there, she asked her grandson to pick up five of the Lottery’s $2 holiday scratch-off, Gifts Galore. He stopped at Julia’s Bytes, a Maryland Business Enterprise Program retailer in Woodlawn, and was at the register about to purchase the five scratch-offs when he decided to play, too. “When you have a grandma who plays the Lottery, you play the Lottery too!”
The Pikesville area resident bought himself one $10 $100,000 Crossword scratch-off that went on sale Nov. 27. Before they left the parking lot, the grandmother and grandson began scratching off the instant tickets. He was confused by what he saw on his game. Did he win $10,000?
“I had to have my grandma verify that I won $10,000, since she’s a pro at these,” said the happy winner. “When she said I did win, I said, ‘Man, you know what I can do with $10,000!’ Then, I noticed that the ticket wasn’t fully scratched. When I saw I actually won $100,000, I couldn’t believe it!”
The lucky player plans to share some of the prize with his family. He also may shop for a new car and go back to college, he said.
Sharing in the fun is the lucky retailer. Julia’s Bytes located at 1500 Woodlawn Drive earns a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize winning scratch-off.
Players can search for the many prizes remaining in this game. There are seven more unclaimed $100,000 top prizes, 14 $10,000 prizes and thousands of others ranging from $10 to $1,000.