Couple play lottery on last day of Maryland vacation and go home with hefty souvenir
.jpg "A couple looking for something to do on a rainy last day of their Maryland beach vacation played the lottery — and won big time.")
A couple looking for something to do on the rainy last day of their Maryland beach vacation played the lottery — and won big time.
They had waited all year for the vacation, and were in morose spirits because it was the last day. That all changed on the ride back to Ohio when they realized the Pick 5 ticket they were gifted with their lottery purchase won them the $50,000 top prize, Maryland Lottery officials said in a July 28 news release.
“We’re lottery fans back home,” the 58-year-old school system employee told lottery officials. “We were driving around since it was raining and my husband suggested that we get a few tickets.”
They hoped to win a piece of last week’s $1.08 billion jackpot and bought Powerball tickets and Maryland specific games, officials said.
“We were walking away from the counter when the cashier called us back,” she said. That’s when the cashier gave them the free Pick 5 ticket as part of a Lottery Week promotion.
“My husband stuck it in his pocket,” she said. “We didn’t think a thing about it” — until they stopped for gas the next morning on the way back to the Cleveland suburb where they live.
She remembered the ticket and asked her husband to check for prizes. Sure enough, they would be taking a big souvenir home with them.
The woman said she noticed something seemed unusual about her husband as he left the store.
“It was the look on his face, I couldn’t figure it out,” she said.
The winners talked about their $50,000 top prize all the way home, officials said.
“It sure did lift the usually depressing end-of-vacation mood for us,” the winner said. “It was all we talked about.”
They’ll use most of their winnings on a home improvement project they’ve been wanting to do for a while, officials said. But part of it will go to next summer’s vacation.
“My husband made it very clear that he intends to set aside some of the money for next summer’s Ocean City vacation,” she said.
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MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Couple play lottery on last day of Maryland vacation and go home with hefty souvenir."
