 John Winovich of Gaithersburg won $30,000 playing the Maryland Lottery’s Rainbow Blackout Bingo scratch-off. |
Finds $30,000 Winning Rainbow Blackout Bingo Scratch-off
A mother and son scratch-off team found a pot of gold at the end of their Maryland Lottery Rainbow Blackout Bingo instant ticket! The winning Winovichs, who enjoy playing instant tickets together, scratched their way to a $30,000 top prize on the $2 ticket.
John Winovich of Gaithersburg, who claimed the prize, routinely purchases scratch-offs to share with his mom when they visit. His favorite spot to buy tickets is a location where his mother won $500 a few years ago. On this day, John bought $20 worth of tickets, including a few bingo tickets. “I never win on the bingo tickets,” said the 54-year-old. “That’s why I didn’t get that many.”
The Montgomery County resident took the tickets to his mother’s house, divided them up into two groups and got to work on his share. “I scratched everything but that Rainbow Blackout Bingo ticket,” he told Lottery officials. “I put it aside and decided to finish watching a movie.”
While he was distracted, his mother decided to scratch that ticket. She revealed an X and thought it signaled a $500 win. “But, I then realized it was the whole box and that the win was much more,” said the 78-year-old, who accompanied her son to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize. The two double-checked the ticket, sealed it in a plastic sandwich bag and placed it beneath some coins in a bank until they could claim the prize.
John now works as a legal secretary but experienced a job layoff in the past. “It was scary not having any income,” he said, “so I am going to keep the majority of this win as a little nest egg.”
He plans to buy a king-size bed and a bookcase for his mother as well as splurge on a special birthday dinner for her later this month. Our lucky player bought the winning ticket at the Metro Coffee Convenience Store located at 202A Park Road in Rockville. There are 10 more top prizes of $30,000 remaining on this scratch-off as well as 10 second-tier prizes of $10,000.