$10K Lottery Win Bright Spot for Worried Mom

SEVERNA PARK, MD — Last week was a tough one for Susan Wilson of Severna Park.

A medical emergency had sent a close family member to the hospital and, in addition to that worry and stress, she was driving loved ones back and forth for bedside visits.

Knowing that Friday evening would be her first chance to relax, the Anne Arundel County resident decided to play Maryland Lottery scratch-offs to help take her mind off of the situation. The $5 Bingo Multiplier game she picked out at Grand Ritchie Liquors in Pasadena did much more than that.

“I was there alone at home in my pajamas with a glass of wine when I scratched off the ticket,” Susan, a married mom, told Maryland Lottery officials. “I kept looking at it again and again. It looked like a $10,000 winner, but I refused to believe it.”

After lengthy examination, the winner called her mother because she is her longtime Lottery partner. “Mom was thrilled, but she wanted me to bring the ticket over to her house. I told her I was in pajamas and she said, ‘Who cares?’ ”

The 54-year-old winner called her husband, Mark, who had been at a friend’s house watching a hockey game, and asked him to join her there. “It was 10 o’clock at night by then, so he was surprised. He was even more surprised when he got there.”

Susan and her husband plan to dedicate some of their $10,000 prize to help with student loans owed by their daughter, who recently graduated from college.

One more piece of good news for Susan – her ailing family member is on the mend.

»Mark and Susan Wilson of Severna Park celebrate their Maryland Lottery win, photo courtesy of the lottery