Parkville supermarket employee plans to pay bills and invest in her daughter’s future with $50,000 Bonus Match 5 prize.
May 1 drawing delivers $50,000 win
A routine stop after work turned into a life-changing moment for Jennifer Iobbi, a Parkville supermarket employee and longtime Maryland Lottery player. She recently visited Maryland Lottery headquarters to share her story after winning a $50,000 prize in the May 1 Bonus Match 5 drawing.
Jennifer has been playing scratch-offs for years, occasionally enjoying small wins, but this is by far her biggest prize. Inspired by others’ success stories with Bonus Match 5, she decided in February to give the game a try, hoping her time would come.
“I usually pick up a few tickets after work, scratch-offs or a draw game,” she explained. That evening, she purchased some scratch-offs and a $6 Bonus Match 5 ticket with nine lines of numbers. It wasn’t until the following day that she scanned her tickets using the Maryland Lottery app. When the message “Take ticket to Lottery headquarters” appeared, she knew something was different.
Unsure what to do next, Jennifer turned to her father, also a longtime Lottery fan, for advice. He suggested she confirm the ticket with a retailer — and sure enough, the message was repeated: “Take ticket to headquarters.” The second line of numbers on her ticket matched all five of the winning numbers in the May 1 drawing: 10, 20, 21, 24 and 26; the Bonus Ball was 32.
Bonus Match 5 drawings are held nightly, with five winning numbers drawn from a range of 1 to 39. To win the game’s $50,000 top prize, players must match all five numbers on a single line. A Bonus Ball drawn from the remaining 34 numbers provides additional ways to win.
“I was surprised,” she said. “I wanted to cry, scream, and dance — but I didn’t want to embarrass myself, so I just hugged my dad. I’ll celebrate later. Overall, I still feel shocked but relieved.”
Accompanied by her dad, Jennifer redeemed her $50,000-winning ticket on May 5.
With plans to pay off bills and invest for her daughter’s future, Jennifer calls the win a “dream come true.” She’s already looking forward to what comes next, adding, “I have more tickets I haven’t scanned in my wallet, but overall, I enjoy playing.”
Jennifer isn’t the only one celebrating. Shoppers Food, located at 5600 The Alameda in Baltimore will receive a $500 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the lucky ticket.
