Holiday Scratch-off Gives Happy Pair a $50,000 Prize

$5 ticket sold in Westminster delivers big bucks

A pair of regular Maryland Lottery scratch-off players have 50,000 reasons to celebrate after they landed a $50,000 top prize on the $5 Holiday Gold instant ticket game.

A 53-year-old resident of Taneytown and his friend, a 38-year-old resident of Gettysburg, Pa., visited Lottery headquarters the week before Christmas and split the big prize down the middle. They had pooled their money to buy instant tickets at Silver Run Liquors in Westminster and took turns scratching them off. The first ticket they played was a non-winner, but not the second one!

“I said, ‘This can’t be right,’” the Taneytown man recalled. His disbelief changed to happiness as soon as they confirmed their big win. The Carroll County resident and his friend also scored another $170 in prizes from the tickets they purchased. Between them, the pair have five children and five grandchildren, and both said they plan to pay off bills and put some of their windfall into savings.

The Holiday Gold game has four more unclaimed $50,000 top prizes, in addition to thousands of other prizes ranging from $5 to $5,000. Players can also enter non-winning holiday scratch-offs into the Holiday Cash & Dash second-chance promotion to win cash and more.

The lucky Carroll County retailer also has reason to celebrate. The store located at 3957 Littlestown Pike in Westminster will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off.