Lucky Woman’s License Plate Numbers Bring $50,000 Pick 5 Prize

Upper Marlboro player picks up additional $400 on trashed-but-retrieved box bet ticket

A Prince George’s County woman who has played her license plate numbers in the Pick 5 game since sales started in Maryland saw her digits pay off in a big way. Earlier this month, the excited player won a $50,000 top prize on a $1 straight bet and a $400 prize on a 50-cent box bet.

Markietta Robertson of Upper Marlboro was looking forward to this red-letter day. She told her husband, James, on many occasions that one day her she was going to hit the Pick 5 game on a straight bet. Little did she know her words would ring true on Jan. 12. Her license plate numbers came out in the evening drawing as the winning numbers.

“I was home when I checked my tickets and I just hollered when I saw I hit,” said Markietta. “I double-checked using the Lottery app and then I jumped into my husband’s arms.”

Later, the couple went to Marlton Liquors in Upper Marlboro, where she had purchased the $50,000-winning ticket, to confirm her prize. Familiar with Markietta and how she plays Pick 5, store employees asked if she had also placed a Pick 5 box bet in the drawing. A 50-cent 60-way Pick 5 box bet delivers a $400 prize.

“I told her she should have won on box, too,” said James. “Would you believe she threw the ticket away?”

“I just wasn’t thinking,” recalled the lucky wife, smiling from ear to ear. “I went home and got that ticket out the trash.”

After all of the excitement died down, the mother of three adult children made an appointment to claim her $50,000 prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore and did so this week. Markietta told Lottery officials that she plans to put her prize toward bills and deposit the rest into savings.

The fortunate player’s Lottery retailer is located at 9518 Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro. The Prince George’s County business receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a $50,000-winning Pick 5 ticket.