Lovebirds Feathering New Nest with $30,000 Scratch-off Prize

“The Newlyweds” happily celebrate their win at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

Cumberland wife finds top-prize win on Plinko game

A pair of Allegany County newlyweds who are renovating their newly purchased house can now make some unexpected upgrades, thanks to a Maryland Lottery prize. “The Newlyweds” plan to pay off a loan tied to the home purchase and make home sweet home even sweeter with the wife’s $30,000 top prize from a Plinko scratch-off.

The lucky Cumberland woman, who loves playing Maryland Lottery instant tickets, bought the lucky scratch-off in June and kept it locked up in a safe until this week. She remembers her lucky day very well, in part because Lottery luck arrived only weeks after the couple’s wedding.

The retail worker had just finished working her shift when Lottery luck crossed her path. She talked to a co-worker for a bit but she still had a lot of time to wait for her ride home. Her husband was working across the state line in West Virginia and couldn’t pick her up for another 10 or 15 minutes.

Mrs. Newlywed decided to give the Lottery’s Plinko scratch-off another try, even though it hadn’t delivered a win to her during previous attempts.

The lucky lady bought the $3 game at Allegany Liquors in Cumberland.

“They were really busy,” she said, so she sat down to play the scratch-off in the store. To her amazement, she won the game’s $30,000 top prize! She showed the instant ticket to a store employee, who scanned it on a ticket checker and verified the big win. Mrs. Newlywed then called her husband and sent him a photo of the winning scratch-off.

“I showed it to a guy I was working with and I said, ‘Dude, does that say what I think it does?’” the husband said. His co-worker initially thought the prize was $300, so Mr. Newlywed suggested he look a little closer!

“The Newlyweds” are not the only ones in Cumberland celebrating their Lottery luck. Also a winner is the Allegany County retailer. For selling the ticket, Allegany Liquors located at 301 North Center Street earns a $300 bonus from the Lottery. The bonus is equal to 1 percent of the prize.