Claimed $50,000 Top Prize on Maryland Lottery Ticket
A Catonsville woman can write “mission accomplished” on the file that provided a top-secret hiding place for about five long months for her $50,000 Top Secret Cash scratch-off.
The mother of three discovered her good fortune last fall, when she bought and scratched off the Maryland Lottery ticket. The 51-year-old decided to wait until 2014 to claim her prize and that meant keeping the ticket safe through fall and early winter. The BGE customer relations representative slipped the signed scratch-off into a file folder in her home office, telling only her mother of the ticket’s top-secret location. Two deaths in the family – her stepfather and grandmother – led to the delay in claiming her prize until late February.
The fact that she won is still amazing to this novice Lottery player. The Baltimore County resident only bought a ticket because she tuned into WBAL-TV 11 one Saturday morning last fall in time to hear a show segment on upcoming Lottery promotions and scratch-off tickets.
“The lady was saying there are a lot of tickets that remain in the stores that are worth $50,000 and $100,000,” said the lucky winner. “The next day, I was at Shoppers in Ellicott City and I was thinking about what the lady said on TV.”
She had $7 in cash and headed to the store’s Player-Activated-Terminal. The $5 Top Secret Cash ticket caught her eye because it boasted of “15 chances to win.” She bought the ticket, scratched it off and a store clerk confirmed her win.
This lucky lady plans to spend some of her winnings taking her children – a 14-year-old son and two daughters, ages 11 and 8 – to Disney World. They will join another 15 family members and friends for a winter holiday vacation.
Our winner found her Lottery luck at Shoppers #2256 at 3301 N. Ridge Road in Ellicott City.