East Baltimore’s Shirley Caudle found $100,000 worth of Lottery luck hiding in a crossword scratch-off.
Finds loads of fun, prizes playing crossword scratch-offs
A self-proclaimed crossword scratch-off lover from Baltimore brought her sister with her to Lottery headquarters this week to share in the excitement of claiming a $100,000 top prize. A happy, smiling Shirley Caudle won big playing the $100,000 Crossword 5th Edition game.
The $10 instant ticket is one of five crossword scratch-offs offered at the $3, $5, $10 and $20 price. In her experience, the East Baltimore resident said, many of the Lottery’s crossword scratch-offs are winners. “People don’t know you don’t just win little prizes. You win big prizes of $500 or more.”
The longtime crossword scratch-off fan found her big win at M & M Lounge in Baltimore, which is her favorite Lottery retailer. Shirley stopped in to buy several different Lottery games and realized lots of crossword scratch-offs were still available. “Nobody had bought any tickets that day,” she said. “It was my turn to win.” When the 63-year-old started to play the lucky instant ticket, she realized right away that a prize was indeed coming her way.
“I was scratching it off and scratching it off and all the words were there,” she said. When Shirley ran the instant ticket’s prize check area under a ticket checker at the retailer, the message that she won $100,000 shocked her.
“I said, ‘Oh my God!’ It shook me.” She called to one of the employees to come over and help her check the instant ticket, too. He confirmed that she had a top-prize win on her hands. “I ran out of there and ran all the way home,” Shirley said. She called several family members to share news of her good fortune.
The happy winner hasn’t yet planned what to do with her windfall, but playing crossword scratch-offs is definitely in her future.
Her lucky Lottery retailer, M & M Lounge, can also celebrate. For selling a $100,000 top-prize winning scratch-off, the business located at 2500 East Biddle Street in Baltimore will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery. Shirley said the retailer is her favorite because of its history of selling winning tickets. In 2022, M & M Lounge has already sold five $5,000-winning Pick 4 tickets in addition to her $100,000-winning scratch-off. In 2021, the retailer sold a dozen $5,000-winning Pick 4 tickets along with winning scratch-offs worth $1 million and $5,000.
