Christine Healey of Essex chose well when selecting the bingo scratch-off to play because she won $50,000!
Player chose bingo game in different bin to win
Christine Healey of Essex told Maryland Lottery officials that she buys instant tickets “once in a blue moon.” That timing was perfect for the mother of three, who visited a 7-Eleven in Dundalk to buy a bingo scratch-off and won the game’s $50,000 top prize.
Another factor in her big win with the $5 Gold Bar Bingo game was triskaidekaphobia, or superstition involving the number 13.
“I love bingo scratch-offs,” Christine said, “and the 7-Eleven had two different bingo games.” She only wanted to buy one instant ticket that day. The stay-at-home mom was about to make her selection when her husband pointed out that one bingo game was in a container numbered 13. Triskaidekaphobia decided the issue. “I chose Gold Bar Bingo, just to avoid the one in the ‘unlucky 13’ box,” she said.
The 47-year-old discovered her luck later at home. “I saw that I had the four corners, which means a $500 win! I was so excited,” Christine said. She showed the winning instant ticket to her husband, who noticed she had uncovered more than just the corners of the bingo board.
“I looked again and saw the X pattern. Then, I looked at the prize and couldn’t believe my eyes.” The Baltimore County player refused to accept what she was seeing and what her husband was telling her so the couple drove to a Lottery retailer to scan the instant ticket. “Seeing it there finally convinced me that the $50,000 was real,” she said.
Christine and her husband will use their winnings as part of a down payment for a new home.
Her lucky retailer, 7-Eleven #35757, is located at 4000 North Point Boulevard in Dundalk. The store earns a bonus of $500 from the Lottery for selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off.
The Gold Bar Bingo game hit store shelves in July. Christine found the first top prize and seven more remain along with nine unclaimed $10,000 second-tier winners.
