‘Surprised’ lottery player hugs her dad after winning big prize in Maryland
A Maryland lottery player feeling overwhelmed by a big win hugged her dad after learning the good news, lottery officials said.
Jennifer Iobbi won a $50,000 prize from the May 1 Bonus Match 5 drawing, the Maryland Lottery said in a May 7 news release.
“I was surprised,” Iobbi told lottery officials. “I wanted to cry, scream and dance — but I didn’t want to embarrass myself, so I just hugged my dad.”
Iobbi, who is a longtime lottery player, said this is the biggest prize she’s won, according to lottery officials.
She said she was inspired by other success stories with the game, so she wanted to try it, lottery officials said. But when a message popped up telling her to take the ticket to the lottery’s headquarters, she asked her dad for advice.
He told her to take it to the retailer and the same message popped up, so she went headquarters, lottery officials said. That’s where she learned that she’d matched five winning numbers, but not the Bonus Ball.
The numbers for the May 1 drawing were 10, 20, 21, 24 and 26, and the Bonus Ball was 32, lottery officials said.
“Overall, I still feel shocked but relieved,” Iobbi told the lottery. She said she plans to pay bills with her winnings and invest in her daughter’s future.
The odds of winning a $50,000 prize in Bonus Match 5 are 1 in 575,757 per $1 ticket and 1 in 191,919 per $2 ticket, according to the game’s web page.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 7:37 AM with the headline "‘Surprised’ lottery player hugs her dad after winning big prize in Maryland."
