Chestertown woman claims $50,000 prize on Royal Gems game
A Kent County mom who plays Maryland Lottery scratch-offs about once a week enjoyed a one-day winning streak that put more than $50,000 in her bank account! Her prize is going toward a great cause – helping her welcome her son home.
“He’s had some tough times recently and I really want to help him get back on his feet,” said the Chestertown resident. “All I can think about right now is the many ways I’ll be able to help him.”
The student therapist found her Lottery luck at Suds-N-Soda close to her mother’s doctor in Chestertown. On that lucky day, after dropping her mom off for a medial appointment, the scratch-off fan went to the Lottery retailer located at 1014 Washington Avenue to pass the time playing scratch-offs.
“I picked out three games and won on each of them,” she said. “There was still time to kill so I kept going.” By the time the 52-year-old played six instant tickets, she was seeing green and had won more than the cost of the games.
“Seven has been a very good number for me over the years, so I bought one more ticket, a seventh game,” she said. An unfamiliar message appeared on the ticket scanner when the loyal player checked to see if the Royal Gems scratch-off was a winner, too. The store clerk helped her figure it out!
“The very first thing I thought about when he told me what I’d won was my son, how this will allow me to help him,” she said. “When I told my mom about the win, she started crying.”
The $20 Royal Gems game still has a $1 million unclaimed top-prize ticket in stores along with one $50,000 prize and three $10,000 prizes.