According to a Maryland Lottery news release issued on Friday, Garrett County’s winner elected to stay at home and “guard” her ticket after realizing it was worth $50,000.
The woman and her husband were heading home from work on February 20 when they stopped for gas at BFS Foods in McHenry, according to lottery officials. The woman opted to buy a scratch-off for Power Cash, a game that had just been released the day before.
When the woman scratched off the $5 ticket, she discovered she had won $5,000. However, when she went to her vehicle and scanned the ticket using the Maryland Lottery’s app, she discovered that she had missed the multiplier, which would have raised her earnings tenfold.
“I didn’t know about the multiplier,” she stated after traveling 200 miles to lottery headquarters in Baltimore. “I took off work for two days guarding the ticket!”
According to lottery authorities, the woman was the first to win $50,000 in the campaign. There are seven remaining $50,000 grand prizes.
The winner stated that the windfall was the largest she had ever won, adding that she had won a few hundred dollars “from time to time.”
The couple, who have two young children and “plenty of expenses,” intends to seek professional investing advice and hopes to purchase a home, lottery officials said. They also plan a “low-key celebration” to commemorate their good fortune.
The retailer who sold the winning ticket is also celebrating. BFS Foods in McHenry will receive a $500 prize from the Maryland Lottery.