Jan. 19 (UPI) — A Maryland woman said she changed her mind at the last minute and purchased a scratch-off lottery ticket that earned her a $50,000 prize.
The Hagerstown woman told Maryland Lottery officials she normally buys tickets for drawings such as Powerball and Mega Millions.
“I’m actually a jackpot game player,” she said. “But every once in a while, a scratch game catches my eye.”
The woman stopped to buy gas in late December at AC&T on Dual Highway in Hagerstown and noticed the store sold lottery tickets.
“Instead of getting my usual Mega Millions and Powerball tickets, for some reason, I changed my mind,” the player said.
She said a $1 Million Royale scratch-off ticket caught her eye.
“I don’t know why,” she said. “There was just something about that ticket.”
The player said the ticket initially did not appear to be a winner.
“I had no matches, which was disappointing,” she recalled. “But there was one symbol instead of a number there.”
The symbol turned out to mean the woman had won a $50,000 prize.
“It was shock. It was disbelief. Could it really be $50,000?” she said.
The woman said she will share her winnings with family.
“A big event, I think,” she said, “maybe a trip. Either way, it’ll be all of us together.”
