Bethany (right) and Emily Reeb of Catonsville have big plans for their Deluxe Crossword top-prize win. |
Catonsville resident wins top prize on Deluxe Crossword game
Bethany Reeb of Catonsville has been hoping her supply-chain management job will soon deliver a pay raise. Whether that happens or not, Lottery Luck handed Bethany a $50,000 top prize on a $5 Deluxe Crossword scratch-off game she purchased recently.
Bethany had stopped at Royal Farms #140 in Owings Mills on her way to work, as she often does, and made an out-of-character purchase. Something, she said, gave her the strong feeling that she should buy a Maryland Lottery scratch-off. Her wife Emily’s late mother had played crossword scratch-offs, bingo instant tickets and other Lottery games daily, but Bethany and Emily rarely play. Nonetheless, Bethany decided to heed her intuition. She had $10 to spend and headed for the store’s Lottery vending machine.
“I had to interrupt a lady buying a whole bunch of scratch-offs,” Bethany said. “I heard something tell me to buy a crossword [game].”
She asked the other customer if she could make a quick purchase. After putting $10 into the machine, she bought one $5 Deluxe Crossword ticket and left the other $5 as credit in the machine for her fellow Lottery player.
“When I looked at the scratch-off, I thought I won $50,” Bethany said.
The 36-year-old returned to the store the next day to claim her scratch-off prize. The store employee gave her the great news — she won $50,000, not $50!
“What a surprise!” Bethany said, adding that she immediately returned home to tell Emily and their two children.
The couple plans to pay bills with the prize, set up a retirement account and go on the honeymoon they have postponed for two years.
Their lucky retailer also is a big winner. For selling a top-prize scratch-off in the game, Royal Farms #140 located at 10988 Red Run Boulevard earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery – equal to 1 percent of the prize.