Quick-Pick Ticket Yields $30,004 Prize for Severn’s ‘Keno Kitty’

“Keno Kitty” plans to move into her own place and invest the rest of her $30,004 prize.

Novice player wins with 8-spot wager

A Severn woman from a family of jackpot chasers found her own big win on a far different Maryland Lottery game. The 21-year-old novice Keno player bought a quick-pick 8-spot ticket and won $30,004.

“Keno Kitty,” a name the purrfectly pleased player chose for publicity purposes, had her close encounter with Lottery good fortune last Friday. A relative had asked her to pick up her younger cousin from school. Arriving a bit early before school let out, “Keno Kitty” stopped at 7-Eleven #39130 in Edgewater to buy apple juice. While there, the Keno monitor caught her eye and “Keno Kitty” decided to get a ticket. She bought an 8-spot quick-pick Keno ticket with the Bonus multiplier for 10 drawings.

After making her purchase, “Keno Kitty” picked up and dropped off her cousin and headed home. She checked her $20 ticket later that evening. “So, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’m probably not going to win,’ ” she said. “But then, when I scanned the ticket and it said I was a winner, I just screamed and screamed.”

She matched all eight of her numbers for the win in the 10th drawing! Because she played the Bonus option, her prize tripled to $30,004.

“Keno Kitty” stays with her grandmother, who was the first person she told about the win.

The young player knew exactly how she will spend her prize when asked about her plans. “I watched a family friend win the Lottery and waste all of the winnings,” she said. “I’m not going to do that.” Instead, the food delivery employee plans to use some of the prize to move into her own place and invest the remaining amount.

Her Lottery retailer, 7-Eleven #39130, benefits from her win, too. The Anne Arundel County store located at 3080 Solomons Island Road received a $300 bonus from the Lottery for selling a winning Keno ticket of $10,000 or more. The bonus is equal to 1% of the prize.