A Montgomery County woman kept her calm when entering the Maryland Lottery headquarters this week, despite winning a $100,000 top prize on the $10 Scratch & Match scratch-off game. At her side, however, was a very excited daughter.
The two women visited the Lottery on June 22, and the winner, a grandmother from Gaithersburg, was remarkably calm as she told her story.
“I have two daughters, and I always told them that one day I was going to hit big,” she said.
It was the previous day when she scored her win. The recent unfortunate passing of a family member prompted the daughter to go out and pick up some sympathy flowers. While on the errand, she also purchased some scratch-offs for her mother.
“I always buy the tickets for her and bring them home for her to play,” the daughter said.
She made the purchase at the Giant grocery store at 18250 Flower Hill Way in Gaithersburg, and said she chose the Scratch & Win ticket because it was “purple and pretty.” She said the very first ticket her mom scratched was the $100,000 winner.
“I saw that I matched one of the winning numbers and thought, ‘Would you look at this!’” the winner gently smiled. She said she immediately showed the ticket to her daughter.
“When I saw how much it was, I almost fell out of my chair,” the daughter said. “Mom was so calm, I think she was in shock, but I went crazy.”
After a bit of celebrating, the winner called her other daughter, who made the arrangements for her to claim the prize. The winner shared that, with her winnings, she plans a trip to New York City to see the Statue of Liberty. Having visited New York City only once in her life, she is excited about going back. The remainder of the winnings will go in the bank.
The Giant is also celebrating the win as the store receives a $1,000 bonus for selling the $100,000 winning ticket.
The Scratch & Match ticket made its debut in March and there are five more $100,000 top prizes waiting to be claimed. There are also two $50,000 prizes, 11 prizes at the $10,000 level, and thousands of others ranging from $10 to $1,000 still unclaimed.
