Loyal player wins $100,000 scratching Emerald 10s game
A Pasadena grandmother has been scratching Maryland Lottery instant tickets for decades using a strategy that often delivered small prizes. She played the same scratch-off for long stretches and then replaced it with another. That practice changed when she saw the new Emerald 10s game.
“It just always felt like a good idea and I won often enough to make me stick with it,” she said of her routine. Everything changed on Wednesday, however, for both her scratch-off selection strategy and the number of zeroes in her prize. “$100,000! I still can’t believe it.”
Inspiration struck as she approached the counter at the B&A Citgo Service Station in Linthicum. “I was all ready to pick the game I’ve been playing for the last few weeks when I saw the Emerald 10s ticket.” The 59-year-old had no explanation for why she deviated from her routine.
“It really was a last-minute thing. I just thought, ‘Maybe play something new.’ ” Emerald 10s, a $10 instant ticket, is not only new to our winner, but to all Maryland Lottery players. The game just went on sale statewide this week. Our lucky grandmother found the game’s first top-prize win. Seven top prizes remain along with 19 $10,000 prizes.
“When I got past the complete disbelief, the pounding heart, my weak knees and difficulty breathing, I felt such relief,” said the Anne Arundel County resident. “This win will remove so many bills from my list of things to worry about.”
Check out the site of her lucky win at 6830 Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard in Linthicum. For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off in the game, the lucky Anne Arundel County retailer earns a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery.