Every time she goes to get her nails done, a Maryland Lottery player from Upper Marlboro swings by the shop next door to pick up a few tickets in hopes of winning big. On a recent trip you could say she nailed it with a $250,000 win.
“Whenever I get my nails done, I stop by the liquor store and play my address and buy a scratch off every now and then,” she said Feb. 10 when she claimed her prized at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. She plays her address on Pick 3 and on the winning trip, she had an appointment for a pedicure and decided she was going to buy three $10 scratch-offs.
Initially, she ended up with a $10 winner and a $15 winner out of the three. With the winnings, she bought a $10 Money Bags ticket. She checked the ticket and the message saw said, “Congratulations!”
“I noticed 250000, but I thought that was some kind of code,” she recalls.
She is acquainted with the clerk at the shop, who offered to check the ticket for her to give her the winning amount.
“She screamed so loud, “Big money! You won! Can I come around and hug you!’” the winner said, adding, “And I just lost it!”
“This is life changing for me,” she continued, saying she plans to use her winnings to make both her and her daughter debt free. And there will also be a celebratory dinner and a nice trip in the future for the mother and daughter.
“I still can’t believe it!” she said.
She bought the winning ticket at Bill’s Wine and Liquor at 7431 Annapolis Road in Hyattsville, which receives a bonus of $1,000.
The big win leaves a single $250,000 top prize remaining unclaimed on the Money Bags game.
