 Melanie DeMario of Summerdale, Pa. and her husband Chris are celebrating a $60,000 Orioles scratch-off win. |
Pennsylvania mom claims top prize on Orioles scratch-off
Unmelted cheese on a chicken sandwich put a Pennsylvania couple in the right place at the right time to buy the right Maryland Lottery Orioles scratch-off.
“We’re still in shock,” said Melanie DeMario of Summerdale, as she claimed a $60,000 top prize on the popular Orioles scratch-off. An AT&T government account manager for the state of Pennsylvania, Melanie plays scratch-offs in both states and even pools her money with friends to enjoy scratch-off parties. She just made her first trip to a lottery winner’s lounge, thanks to her Orioles instant ticket.
Fate smiled on Melanie and her husband Chris after the youngest of their three sons finished a baseball game. En route to the son’s home in Reisterstown, the trio stopped at a Royal Farms store at 15 Hanover Pike for gas and a chicken sandwich.
“We asked for melted cheese,” Chris said, “and found out it wasn’t melted so we went back in the store.” While the trio waited for the clerk to fix the sandwich, Melanie passed the time playing Lottery scratch-offs. Because she was fresh from a baseball game, our winner selected two $5 Orioles tickets and scratched them in the store. One was a non-winning ticket and the second was a $5 winner. Melanie decided to reinvest her win in one more Orioles scratch-off. By the time she bought the third ticket, however, the sandwich was ready so she scratched off the ticket after reaching their vehicle.
“She’s like, ‘I won $60,’ ” Chris said, remembering that he asked if she were certain and could he take a look at her ticket. “I said, ‘Melanie, that’s not $60, that’s SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!’ ”
The celebration began immediately with photos of Melanie holding the ticket and phone calls to family members. They put the ticket in a ziplock bag and hurried home to put the scratch-off in the safe overnight. The next morning found them at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, claiming the prize.
The 39-year-olds, who married about one year ago, plan to pay off bills, take a vacation and put the rest of the money into the bank. Chris owns and operates an auto parts business, DeMario Core Recovery.