“Sunshine” is overjoyed with a $30,000 Keno win that will enable her to pay off bills and put money aside for her children’s future |
Dunkirk woman finds Lottery luck with 8-spot bet
“Sunshine” of Dunkirk, who describes herself as a naturally happy person, is overjoyed that the combination of wearing her lucky bracelet and playing her “lucky zeros” during her lucky Lottery month worked to give her a $30,000 Keno win.
“I am ecstatic!” said the physical therapy aide. “I am always happy so now I’m really, really happy.”
The day she won the biggest prize of her life began with her decision to don her lucky bracelet, which was a gift that she’s worn on other winning days. The 42-year-old had just won $10 playing Powerball, for example, which boosted her record of wins large and small during the month of June. In 2016, she won $4,000 in June playing Keno. With those two factors in mind, the single mother of two stopped at Dash In #10921 in Owings to cash in her $10 winning ticket and see if Lady Luck would reappear.
“Sunshine” reinvested her prize into an 8-spot Keno ticket. “I love Keno,” she said, “and I play the zeros.” She wagered that the 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 numbers would appear in one of four drawings and then left the store with her $8 ticket.
“I had to pick up my daughter from daycare,” she said, so she didn’t stop to watch the drawings. The Calvert County resident didn’t get far, however. A bad car accident had vehicles at a standstill. Pulling out her phone to pass the time, she went to the Lottery app and checked her ticket against the winning numbers.
“All of my numbers came out,” she said. “I just cut my phone off and decided to check them at home.” Sure enough, she had a big winner on her hands. This mom didn’t want to scream and shout and upset her children. “I was happy on the inside,” she said.
“Sunshine” plans to pay bills with her prize and put money aside for her children’s future.
Dash In also has reason to celebrate. For selling a winning Keno ticket of $10,000 or more, the Calvert County store located at 136 E. Chesapeake Beach Road will earn a $300 bonus from the Lottery – equal to 1 percent of the prize.