Dedicated player finds $50,000-winning instant ticket
Discovering a mix of winning words in two puzzles was the key to a big win for a Carroll County fan of crossword-themed instant tickets. The dedicated player purchased a $5 Deluxe Crossword 9th Edition scratch-off at a Royal Farms in Sykesville and walked away with its $50,000 top prize.
The anonymous player adopted the nickname “Don,” after his favorite movie character Vito Corleone, to use when telling the story of his lucky scratch-off purchase.
Last weekend, when the dedicated player woke up, he decided to drive to the Royal Farms at 1261 Liberty Road to buy a newspaper and two Deluxe Crossword 9th Edition scratch-offs. He purchased one for his wife and one for himself.
“Don” scratched off his instant ticket when he got home, revealing four black words in the game’s first puzzle and four red words in its second puzzle. That combination leads to a top prize worth $50,000.
“I scanned my ticket to make sure I won,” he said, smiling. “I scanned the prize check area and ran to tell my wife. I didn’t believe it until she began screaming louder than me. We were both overjoyed.”
“Don” told Lottery officials that he plans to use some of the prize to pay his credit card bills and make some home renovations. He’ll use any remaining funds to take his wife on a weekend getaway.
Also a winner is his Lottery retailer. Royal Farms in Sykesville will receive a $500 Lottery bonus for selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off.
The 9th Edition of the Deluxe Crossword game went on sale in September with eight $50,000 top prizes. There are seven of them remaining, along with 14 $10,000 prizes and hundreds of thousands of others ranging from $5 to $1,000.