An 18-year-old Baltimore City woman who just became eligible to play Maryland Lottery scratch-offs this summer enjoyed a case of beginner’s luck. The novice found a $30,000 top-prize win on the Bingo X3 game.
The Baltimore City Community College student was familiar with the $3 game after playing it with her mother. This time, however, she played solo. The lucky lady bought her Bingo X3 instant ticket on Saturday afternoon, she said, “just for fun.” After making the purchase at Hoffman’s Liquors in Baltimore, she headed home, ate lunch and played the scratch-off.
She took her time scratching off the four bingo cards in the game. The winner realized that if she revealed one more number on the last of the four bingo cards, she would have an “X” and a $30,000 prize. To her surprise, that’s exactly what happened.
“I still thought it wasn’t true,” said the winner. “I kept checking the ticket over and over again to make sure it was correct.”
Convinced her win was real, the happy player began jumping for joy! She then shared the news with her mother and grandmother. After triple checking the scratch-off, both women agreed the instant ticket carried a top prize. They accompanied the lucky student to claim her win at Lottery headquarters on Monday morning.
Over the weekend, the grandmother hid the ticket to keep it safe. “I had nightmares about that ticket,” said the grandmother. “I woke up three times to change the hiding place.”
The winner is a 2018 high school graduate attending college tuition-free through the Baltimore City Mayor’s Scholars Program. She plans to use some of her prize to cover textbook costs and, when she transfers to a four-year university, to finance housing costs.
The Lottery retailer that sold the winning ticket is celebrating, too. Hoffman’s Liquors located at 4401 Park Heights Avenue earned a $300 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize scratch-off in the game.