Maryland couple scratch off $500,000 after checking prize list
A Dundalk woman said her husband’s lottery homework led them to a $500,000 Maryland scratch-off win.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
A Dundalk, Md., couple turned a little lottery homework into a $500,000 payday after the husband checked which scratch-off games still had big prizes available, according to Maryland Lottery officials.
The woman told lottery officials that she and her husband regularly play together, treating the games as a shared bit of fun. She said they had previously won $500, a prize she remembered as exciting.
The bigger moment came in late June, when the woman was heading to a store and her husband asked her to buy a particular scratch-off ticket, Maryland Lottery officials said.
According to the husband’s account to the lottery, he had been looking at the Maryland Lottery website to see which games still had major prizes left. He said the Gifts of Green scratch-off had several top prizes still unclaimed, so he picked that game.
A researched pick pays off
The woman bought two Gifts of Green tickets, then returned home and scratched them with her husband, officials said.
One of the tickets showed the winning symbol and the $500,000 prize amount, according to the couple’s account to Maryland Lottery officials. The wife said she kept comparing the symbol, the prize amount and the game rules as she tried to process what she was seeing.
Her husband said he realized the ticket was no ordinary win when he saw her reaction. He told lottery officials her eyes and voice made it clear something big had happened.
The Maryland Lottery said the ticket delivered a $500,000 prize for the couple.
New wheels and retirement plans
The couple told lottery officials they plan to use the money for a new vehicle and to help prepare for retirement.
The wife said the prize eases concerns the couple had about how retirement would work for them, according to Maryland Lottery officials.
The win adds to a busy run of attention-grabbing lottery stories in recent days, including another $500,000 prize reported in South Carolina and a $150,000 win in North Carolina, according to UPI. In this case, the Dundalk couple’s big break came down to a website check, a store run and two tickets scratched at home.
This story draws on original reporting from UPI.