Wins $100,000 on Maximum Jackpot game
Although she may have appeared calm when she scratched off her winning Maximum Jackpot ticket, a Lanham woman told Maryland Lottery officials that inside she was far from it. Seeing her $100,000 top-prize win gradually appear shook her to her core!
The mother of one was still in Gem Liquors in Lanham when Lottery luck delivered the shocking win. She selected the $10 instant ticket because she immediately recognized it as a new game in the store’s Lottery offerings.
“I’ve been pretty lucky playing new games, so whenever I see one I don’t recognize, I grab it,” said the 54-year-old. Scratching her big winner there in the store, she quickly found a match. That pleased her and then she looked at the corresponding prize amount! Her calm demeanor was put to the test. “It was stunning, but I didn’t want anyone there to know, so I kept my cool,” said the federal government employee.
Work responsibilities and preparations for the Memorial Day holiday kept her from claiming her prize last week. “I’ve been feeling like I’m in a movie these last few days,” she said. “It’s hard to believe this is real.” However, the long wait to claim her prize pushed her nerves to the breaking point. “I just couldn’t wait to get here, to turn in this ticket and get my prize. Now I can relax.”
The loyal scratch-off player plans to devote her $100,000 prize to her son’s education fund and to finance visits to family members across the country. For selling a top-prize ticket, her lucky Prince George’s County Lottery store – Gem Liquors at 9443 Annapolis Road – will receive a bonus of $1,000 from the Lottery. The game still has five more $100,000 top prizes and 22 $10,000 prizes awaiting discovery at Lottery retailers.