 Lucky Nana, aka Rhonda Nichols of Baltimore, celebrates her $10,000 scratch-off win. |
Finds lucky Royal Gems scratch-off
A retired operating room nurse from Baltimore discovered the perfect cure to her ailing Lottery luck – a $10,000 winning Royal Gems scratch-off.
Rhonda Nichols is a loyal Maryland Lottery player with top scratch-off wins of $2,500 and $500 in previous years. On the day she walked into Gruner’s Liquor and Food Market at 101 North Monastery Avenue in Baltimore, the 57-year-old became a big Lottery winner by choosing a $20 scratch-off.
“I never bought a $20 ticket before,” said the grandmother of 13. “I scratched it and I said, ‘Is this $1,000? I don’t believe this because I usually don’t win anything!’ ”
The store was packed with customers, she said. Rhonda quietly pulled one of the clerks aside and showed her the instant ticket. “I said, ‘Miss, would you scratch this with me? Is this real? I don’t believe what I’m seeing!’ ” As soon as the clerk confirmed the $10,000 win, Rhonda fled.
“I just turned and left out of the store,” said the mother of four. “They were busy but nobody knew what was going on with me.”
Lucky “Nana,” as her grandkids call her, plans to spend her prize on them. “I’m going to take them shopping,” she said. After spending her career helping others as a nurse in an operating room, in orthopedic surgery and an outpatient lab, Rhonda now devotes her time to her grandchildren and college theology classes.
The Royal Gems game still has top prizes awaiting discovery. Players can look for one more $1 million prize in the game, one more $50,000 prize and two more $10,000 prizes. Royal Gems also has thousands of other unclaimed prizes ranging from $20 to $5,000.