Retiree wins $30,000 on Rack up the Cash scratch-off
A determined Temple Hills great-grandmother who kept chasing the eight ball on Rack up the Cash scratch-offs, hoping to win $50, just realized her dream in a much bigger way. The lucky loyal player racked up a $30,000 top-prize win on the $3 game.
“I kept saying, ‘I don’t think there is an eight ball because I’ve been playing this game since it came out and I have not seen one eight ball,’” the happy woman said. The game, which launched in 2013, delivered a lot of entertainment as she searched for that $50 eight ball. Instead, she captured the second-to-last top prize on the ticket. “I couldn’t believe it!”
The retiree was at home when she scratched off her lucky ticket. Not trusting herself, she took the ticket back to the retailer, Marlow Winghouse & Sports Grille in Marlow Heights, to have the clerk verify the win. “I waited for everybody to go by,” she said, and then handed the ticket to the clerk. After confirming the win, the clerk quietly called the Lottery’s claims center in Lanham only to discover the win was so large she had to collect her prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. The mother of two adult children, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of two said the retailer offered to drive her to the Baltimore, but she wound up riding with her daughter.
The lucky winner retired this year from her job as a medical records specialist with a Virginia hospital system. She plans to keep playing the Lottery’s scratch-offs, Pick 3 and Pick 4, Powerball and Mega Millions. Her prize will help her pay bills and fund a back-to-school shopping trip for a grandson, she said.
For selling the top-prize ticket on the scratch-off, the retailer wins, too. The Lottery will give Marlow Winghouse & Sports Grille, located at 4147 Branch Avenue in Marlow Heights, a $300 bonus.