Claims $50,000, taxes-paid prize on Payday Doubler game.
At age 70, “Miss SSS” has developed an enjoyable morning routine. The Worcester County woman, who lives in the small town of Willards, visits her favorite Maryland Lottery retailer every morning to grab a cup of coffee and some scratch-offs. Then, she goes home to sip and scratch.
Three weeks ago, Lady Luck interrupted her ritual with a $50,000 surprise!
“Miss SSS” routinely buys four $10 scratch-offs with her coffee at the Willards’ Dash In. On her lucky day, she purchased three $10 scratch-offs and two $5 instant tickets. The $5 games were the taxes-paid, Payday Doubler instant ticket. It’s a good thing she changed her routine because one of those scratch-offs held a $50,000 top-prize surprise for the spunky great-grandmother.
“I was standing at the counter scratching them as I do,” she said. “I scratch the winning numbers first then the matches. When I saw the first $5,000, I thought ‘that’s no big deal’,” she said. “When I kept revealing more and more $5,000 prizes, I just couldn’t believe it.”
The insurance agent added everything up three times to make sure her math was correct. She had a $50,000 win!
“Miss SSS” immediately called her eldest daughter to share the good news.
“I said, ‘Are you freaking kidding me!’ ” reported the daughter, who accompanied her mom to claim the taxes-paid prize.
The winner shared her great news with other family members and then waited for her daughter to have a day off to bring her to Lottery headquarters to claim the prize. “Miss SSS” plans to retire soon and said most of the winnings will go toward her retirement fund. She also plans to pay a few bills.
The lucky Lottery retailer is a winner, too. For selling the top prize scratch-off, the Eastern Shore Dash In located at 7201 Main Street earns a bonus of $500 from the Lottery.