Couple claims $50,000 top prize on holiday-themed game
An Ellicott City woman and her husband were still in shock at their luck when they arrived at Maryland Lottery headquarters three days after revealing a $50,000 top prize on their Holiday Lucky Times 10 scratch-off.
The 40-year-old woman purchased 10 of the $5 instant tickets at Normandy Wine & Spirits in Ellicott City. She and her husband then returned home and her husband headed for the basement while she scratched the tickets.
The first two scratch-offs didn’t reveal any prizes, but the third started showing some promise as she revealed the numbers.
“I started scratching, and I only scratch the numbers, not the prizes,” she said. “I like to see if my numbers match the winning numbers, and then I scratch the rest to see what the prizes are. So I saw that I matched the 11, and then I started scratching off underneath for the prize and saw ’50,’ and I thought it looked kind of small. And I said, ‘I don’t think the $500 is printed that small.’ At first I thought it was a joke.”
At that point, she called her husband to come up from the basement to have him check the ticket.
“She had a look of disbelief,” he said.
After a careful examination, the Howard County couple was convinced the ticket was a top-prize winner. They put it in their safe until they could make the trip to Lottery headquarters to claim the prize. The lucky winner enjoys playing scratch-off games, Powerball and Mega Millions. Her largest Lottery prize prior to this one was $500 on a scratch-off about two years ago.
Married for nearly 20 years, the couple has four children and three grandchildren. They said they have no special plans for the Lottery prize, but will pay some bills and use the money to enjoy the holidays with their family.
Normandy Wine & Spirits is a winner as well. The retailer located at 8492 Baltimore National Pike will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize ticket in the game. Holiday Lucky Times 10 launched in October and there are still two $50,000 top prizes available along with eight unclaimed $5,000 prizes.