$100K Winning Holiday Raffle Ticket Helps Couple Pay For Wedding

ABERDEEN, MD — A holiday raffle ticket gifted by a man to his fiance while she was in the throes of planning their wedding came in clutch when it ended up winning $100,000.

Marcia Cooper of Aberdeen claimed one of the 10 $100,000 winning Holiday Raffle prizes. Her fiance bought her around 20 of the tickets over the game's two-month run. Cooper told Maryland Lottery officials that she doesn't play many lottery games, but was excited when her husband-to-be gave her the tickets.

“He was telling me how great the odds were and how it’s the best chance to win $1 million,” she shared with lottery officials when claiming the prize Jan. 7 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

Cooper's fiancé purchased tickets from different lottery retailers hoping for a big win. Their dream came true when the Holiday Raffle was held on Jan. 2 and, after checking the website, Cooper's fiancé saw a match. He texted her the winning raffle ticket and a picture of the matching number on the lottery website. Cooper was driving home from her federal government job and couldn't check her phone until she arrived home.

“He was standing outside the house when I got home and wanted me to ride with him to the store,” she said. “I was tired, but I went.”

The Aberdeen resident said when they arrived at the lottery retailer, he pulled out the raffle tickets and said he needed to check them. Excited he said, “I already know one is $100,000,” he said before he hopped out the car.

“I thought, ‘Did he just say $100,000?’” Cooper said. “When he got back in the car, he showed me the picture on his phone. I couldn’t believe it.”

Among the raffle tickets checked was also a $100 winner. Marcia’s fiancé already knew the other winning ticket was worth $100,000 and left it home in a safe. When claiming the prize, the couple said now they can have an intimate wedding ceremony instead of just going to the courthouse. They also added that some of the winnings will be shared with family and they will square up their finances.

The $100,000 winning ticket was purchased at Riverside Sunoco Plus at 1319 Riverside Parkway in Belcamp.

The Maryland Lottery Holiday Raffle ran Nov. 3 through Jan. 1 with winning numbers drawn on Jan. 2, including for a top prize of $1 million and 10 prizes of $100,000 each. The winning numbers – including 10,000 for prizes of $50 to $500 – were selected from among the 237,206 sequentially numbered tickets sold. Tickets, numbered 000001 through 237206, were $20 each and were available at Maryland Lottery retailers across the state.