Essex woman bags groceries and $10,000 prize on $10 game
A Maryland Lottery scratch-off fan who routinely adds games to her grocery purchases came home with a $10,000 surprise for her dubious boyfriend.
Her happy story begins with the Essex grandmother of two spotting her current favorite scratch-off, Your Fortune, at one of her favorite Lottery retailers, the Food Lion store at 1565 Hyde Park Road in Baltimore. The 54-year-old bought the $10 game, scanned the prize check code to see if it was a winner and saw a “Cash at Lottery” message. The lucky player took the game and the groceries to her vehicle, locked the door and tried to figure out how much she won. Realizing that she had won a big prize, the Baltimore County resident was so shocked “I couldn’t add it up,” she said.
Her next step was a phone call to her boyfriend, who had stayed behind at home. The happy winner shared her good news, but he couldn’t believe it was true until he saw the instant ticket with his own eyes.
The government employee already has big plans for her prize. She will help a friend who has children and lacks the funds to give her kids a nice holiday, and will finish paying off her December bills.
The Your Fortune game went on sale in September and still has six unclaimed top prizes of $100,000. Another nine unclaimed $10,000 prizes are awaiting discovery along with thousands of other prizes ranging from $10 to $1,000.