This royal win gave the “Queen of Crosswords” reason to celebrate! |
Prince George’s County scratcher claims top prize on Deluxe Crossword game
The “Queen of Crosswords,” a Capitol Heights mother of two, is used to winning with the Maryland Lottery. However, the $50,000 top prize she just discovered on a Deluxe Crossword scratch-off was truly a win fit for a queen.
“I have won some small prizes before — $500 twice and $6,000 playing the Pick 4,” said the “Queen,” adding, “this is my biggest win since I started playing!”
The Prince George’s County resident, who favors the $5 Deluxe Crossword scratch-off, started playing Maryland Lottery games in 2013 after a friend gave her an instant ticket as a gift. Now, the “Queen of Crosswords” plays Pick 4, Pick 3, Powerball, Mega Millions and Gold Bar Bingo scratch-offs regularly.
“I have a ritual: As soon as I get off work, I go to my local gas station, go home, pull up a recording of Dateline and scratch my tickets while I eat a snack,” said the 49-year-old. “I do it almost every day. I just keep scratching.”
After realizing she had a winning instant ticket, the “Queen of Crosswords” woke up her daughter to verify the top-prize win. The lucky winner just couldn’t believe her own eyes. Her daughter confirmed the win and the “Queen of Crosswords” hid the scratch-off in her purse. She then hid the purse deep in her closet to keep the lucky instant ticket safe.
“After I signed it, I didn’t know when I would be able to cash the ticket in so the closet was a good place to hide it,” she said.
“Queen of Crosswords” has big plans for her top prize. She has already treated her family to a celebration meal at a local steak house. The happy mom plans to use the prize to pay her taxes, finish home improvement projects and take a vacation trip to Jamaica.
She found this lucky scratch-off at Seat Pleasant BP gas station located at 5818 Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Seat Pleasant. The Prince George’s County Lottery retailer wins big, too. For selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off in the game, the retailer earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery.
The Deluxe Crossword game still has two $50,000 top prizes and seven $10,000 prizes left for some lucky players to find.