College Park Resident Defies ‘Experts’ With $30K Loteria Ticket

College Park, MD — A College Park resident got the last laugh on a few self-proclaimed Maryland Lotteryexperts recently when she won a $30,000 top prize on the Loteria scratch-off.

In late June, she visited the 7-Eleven at 10550 Baltimore Ave.in Beltsville and was trying to pick scratch-offs to buy when other Lottery players in the store advised her against the $3 Loteria ticket.

“They were well-versed in the Lottery and they said that it wasn’t the ticket to get,” she told Lottery officials. “So, I decided I was going to do the opposite and try it.”

The lucky winner, who works in the health care field, said she is accustomed to playing instant tickets that reveal prize amounts when the ticket is scratched. Loteria is a bit different, as players reveal symbols and then match them against a field of winning symbols to determine the amount of their prize.

She scratched the ticket in the store, and at first wasn’t sure whether she had won. But then, she scanned the Prize Check code at the Lottery ticket checker and received the message that every player hopes to see: “Cash at Lottery.” That meant the prize was far too large for her to cash the ticket at the 7-Eleven. Her win left the other Lottery players at the store in shock.

“There were a few choice words,” the lucky woman said with a smile. “I was quite excited and happy and surprised. I couldn’t believe it was real.”

The Prince George’s County resident said she plans to take her time deciding what to do with her prize money, although she is thinking about using some of it to buy a new car. She also plans to help a few important people in her life and donate to a few charities.

“I just want to calm down and think about it,” she said. “And I hope to come back again and win something big.”

The 7-Eleven store in Beltsville will receive a $300 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize-winning ticket in the game.