 Charles and Annette Divelbliss of Mt. Airy claimed a $50,000 top prize on the Wizard of Oz instant ticket |
Wizard of Oz scratch-off delivers latest win
The month of January has triggered Lottery luck twice for Charles and Annette Divelbliss of Mt. Airy, who just won their second $50,000 Maryland Lottery prize in two years.
In January 2014, the pool-cleaning pair were preparing for their annual business trip to an out-of-state pool and spa convention when Annette got great news. She was among three people who won $50,000 in the Lottery’s Ravens Cash Fantasy second-chance contest. This January, Charles won $50,000 on the Lottery’s Wizard of Oz scratch-off. He purchased his lucky $5 ticket at the High’s store in Sykesville just before the historic blizzard hit Maryland.
“I had bought two tickets that didn’t win anything, and I decided I would get two more,” Charles said. When he played his winning ticket, he first scratched off everything except the prize amounts. “When I saw I had three of the same symbol on a line, I scratched the prize and saw $50,000 and I just stared at it. It took a while to sink in.”
Moments later, he was on the phone with Annette.
“He said, ‘Are you driving? Can you stay calm? Because I think I just won $50,000,’ ” Annette recalled. “I said, ‘What?!?’ ”
“When she got home she said, ‘Show me,’ ” Charles said. “And, sure enough, three 7s and it said $50,000.”
The parents of six have been married 11 years. Charles said that when they won the $50,000 Ravens Cash Fantasy prize last year, they used about a third of the money to help family and friends.
“This time, we’ll pay some bills,” he said. “And, we’re thinking about taking the kids on a cruise,” Annette added.
The $50,000 prize is by far the largest Charles has enjoyed playing scratch-offs. His biggest previous prize was $500, which he won a few weeks ago on a Gold Hard Cash ticket. His lucky retailer, the High’s store at 10 Liberty Road in Sykesville, will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize ticket in the game.
The Wizard of Oz game has two more $50,000 top prizes and six $5,000 prizes awaiting discovery at a Lottery retailer. The instant ticket has plenty of other prizes, too, ranging from $5 to $1,000.