Home ownership on horizon for Prince George’s County couple after third-tier score
When the jackpots are high enough to get her attention, an Upper Marlboro player is a Lottery regular. A prize of $50,000 really got her focused when that amount flashed on her phone as she scanned a Powerball ticket for a win.
“I was in shock when I saw it,” the mother of four young children said this week when she and her husband claimed the prize at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.
The 30-year-old discovered her good fortune when she and her husband traveled to pick up one of their children. The Prince George’s County mom was waiting in the car with another child when she checked her $10 quick-pick ticket using the Maryland Lottery smartphone app. When her husband and child got back in the car, she was in tears.
“I saw her face and asked, ‘What’s going on?’” the husband said. At first, he was concerned she might have received some bad news but then she showed him the prize check message on her phone. “I was like, ‘What!” the husband recalled.
The ticket was for the Oct. 2 drawing, when the jackpot had made the transition from hundreds of millions to more than a billion dollars. She matched four of the five regular balls plus the Powerball to secure the $50,000 third-tier prize. Since her win, the Powerball jackpot has continued to increase, hitting an estimated annuity of $1.4 billion for the Saturday, Oct. 7 drawing.
The ballooning jackpot has continued to hold the winning couple’s attention. Asked if they would continue playing, the husband said, “Yes! Actually, we just purchased more tickets yesterday.”
The $50,000 prize will allow them to make a major lifestyle adjustment. They plan to use the money to put a down payment on a house.
Their hot ticket was purchased at the Exxon gas station at 1500 Northwest Crain Highway in Bowie.
