Milagro Alfaro de Melgar of Ashton claimed her $50,000 VaxCash 2.0 promotion prize on April 12.
Winner selected in April 12 drawing
An Ashton resident visited Maryland Lottery headquarters on April 29 to claim her $50,000 VaxCash 2.0 promotion prize from the April 12 drawing. The winner, Milagro Alfaro de Melgar, won the prize after being selected randomly from more than 2 million eligible Marylanders.
Milagro qualified for the $50,000 prize after getting her COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters in Maryland. The 48-year-old Montgomery County woman was both surprised and happy when she received a call from the Maryland Health Department informing her that she had been selected.
Although thrilled with the prize, the lucky winner told Lottery officials her reason for becoming vaccinated was simple: to protect herself and others.
“It helps save lives. Mine, as well as others – like my family,” she said.
Milagro told Lottery officials that she is looking for a house and the $50,000 prize will go toward her dream of home ownership.
“I’m also appreciative of the program and what it has done to encourage others to get the vaccine,” she said.
Milagro is one of 11 VaxCash 2.0 winners so far, and one of 10 winners of $50,000. The promotion’s first drawing on Feb. 15 awarded a $500,000 prize to a Dundalk woman. On May 3, a single winner will be selected for a grand prize of $1 million.
The VaxCash 2.0 promotion, which was announced by Gov. Larry Hogan on Feb. 8, is awarding $2 million in cash prizes in weekly drawings from Feb. 15 through today, May 3. VaxCash 2.0 aims to incentivize Marylanders to get COVID-19 booster shots. All Maryland residents 18 and older who had received an initial shot(s) and a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at eligible facilities in Maryland at any time were eligible to win. No registration or entry was needed.
VaxCash 2.0 follows last year’s successful collaboration between the Lottery and the Maryland Department of Health for the VaxCash Promotion that ran from May 25 through July 4, 2021, awarding $2 million in prizes to vaccinated Marylanders. For complete details about VaxCash 2.0, including the official rules and a list of frequently asked questions, visit the VaxCash 2.0 page.
