Two unknown lottery players just won $1 million in Baltimore County. A trucker and a fresh college grad also scored jackpots.
Patch Staff
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — The Maryland Lottery minted two new millionaires in Baltimore County last week.
In the past week, the county has also seen a trucker haul in a major prize, a college graduate surprised with a victory and a father who gifted a winning ticket to his son.
The $1 million tickets were both for Powerball. Both were unclaimed as of Monday.
One winning ticket was sold June 4 at Catonsville's Soda Pop Shop at 1026 Ingleside Ave.
The other was purcased June 2 at the Parkville Safeway located at 8858 Waltham Woods Road.
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A Baltimore County trucker and his wife scored a $250,000 top prize while shopping at the Edgemere Food Lion, located at 7514 North Point Road.
“I'm still not believing this is real,” the husband, identified only as Paul, said in a June 2 press release.
Paul and his wife, Gelila, passed the lottery machine while browsing the store. Trying to save time, the busy shoppers picked the first ticket they saw, the $10 Money Bags scratch-off. The couple waited until they got home to check their prize.
“I was mowing the lawn when my wife came outside to get me,” Paul said, adding that Gelila asked him to guess how much they'd won. “I guessed $500, which is the most I'd ever won, and she pointed up. I made a couple more guesses and she kept pointing. Then she got too excited to wait and showed it to me. 100% disbelief.”
The couple plans to use their winnings to pay bills and invest in some home remodeling projects.
“We should still have plenty left over to find something fun to do,” Paul said.
A Rosedale woman was celebrating her college graduation with friends at Dick's Famous Halfway Inn, located at 8013 Philadelphia Road.
The graduate bought a $5 Mosaic Money scratch-off and handed it to a friend, a first-time scratch-off player, to unveil their numbers.
The ticket revealed five numbers in the Your Numbers section of the ticket that matched the Winning Numbers, and each one had a $5,000 prize underneath it for a total of $25,000.
The ticket also had a 2X symbol with a $5,000 prize, doubling it to $10,000, and a 3X symbol with another $5,000 amount, tripling it to $15,000. The two symbols delivered an additional $25,000 for a total of $50,000, the game's top prize.
“My friend didn't think it was real,” the anonymous victor said in a Monday press release.
The fresh graduate plans to use the prize money to pay off student loans as she begins working.
“I almost cried when I saw the amount,” she said.
A frequent scratch-off player from Edgemere won a $50,000 jackpot on the $5 Let's Make a Deal game, but he gave the ticket to his son and his daughter-in-law.
The Maryland Lottery announced the news on Tuesday.
For the anonymous dad, it's more about playing than winning. He plays scratchers and then settles in to watch TV shows like "The Rockford Files" or "Barney Miller."
The son does not play the lottery, but his wife enjoys Racetrax, a simulated horse racing game.
The father bought the winning ticket at Edgemere Convenience, located at 7308 North Point Road.
The Let's Make A Deal game went on sale in April. This was the game's fifth top prize to be claimed.
Anybody with a gambling problem can get free and confidential help by visiting mdgamblinghelp.org or calling 1-800-GAMBLER.
To learn how to claim a prize, click here.
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