Becomes second Cumberland resident to claim million-dollar prize this week
There’s a lot of Lottery luck flowing through Western Maryland this week! A Cumberland resident just became the second player from that city to claim a prize of $1 million or more from the Maryland Lottery.
The lucky woman was searching for gold by playing her favorite scratch-off, the $30 $2,000,000 Gold Rush game. She’s tried her luck since the instant ticket went on sale on Feb. 21, 2022 and just won its last $2 million top prize.
The retired state employee follows a routine when she plays scratch-offs. She scratches off the player’s numbers without revealing the prizes and then compares those numbers to the winning numbers. This time, the Allegany County resident revealed the player’s numbers and spotted an auto-win symbol.
“I saw a ‘vault’ symbol so I knew that I won something. I thought it was at least $500,” she told Lottery officials while relaxing in the Winner’s Circle with her husband.
The Western Maryland resident quickly discovered the prize was a lot more than $500. When she continued to scratch off the play area, she found a $2 million prize hiding beneath the “vault” symbol. She immediately called her husband into the room.
“I ran upstairs and asked her if she won a million dollars,” her husband said, knowing she was in the middle of playing her favorite game.
“Then I told him, ‘No. I won two million dollars,” the wife explained with a huge grin.
The winner plans to give $100,000 of her prize to charity and put the rest toward home improvements. She credits her win to astrology, explaining that she decided to buy an instant ticket based on her astrology sign for Sunday. Feb. 18.
“The moon was on my sign on the 18th. It was my lucky day.”
That was also a lucky day for Parkview Liquors in Cumberland. The Allegany County retailer, located at 82 Greene Street, will receive a $2,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the $2 million top-prize winning ticket to Maryland’s newest multimillionaire.
Our winner was the second Cumberland resident to claim a seven-figure prize on a game this week. A Cumberland truck driver won $1 million on a FAST PLAY MONOPOLY™ Properties ticket.
