Grandmother Of 8 Bags $50K Lottery Win At Supermarket

GAITHERSBURG, MD — A Gaithersburg grandmother of eight bagged more than just groceries at her neighborhood supermarket last week.

While grabbing a few household items at Giant, she tried her luck playing a "Holiday Gold" lottery game and ended up winning the $50,000 prize.

Maryland lottery officials say the lucky winner, whose name they withheld to protect her privacy, is an avid scratch-off fan.

"I've been playing this scratch-off for a minute," she said.

Before playing, the retiree reportedly researches the status of lottery scratch-offs to see which ones are new and have unclaimed prizes.

Then, all last week, her palms started to itch — a sensation that she says usually brings lottery luck.

"I went to the grocery and bought two of them," she told lottery officials. "When I got home, I said, 'Let me go ahead and scratch them.'"

She got zip on the first $5 "Holiday Gold" scratch-off. Then, her luck changed.

"On the second one, I saw a candy cane (symbol) and thought, 'Oh, I won $5,000.' I looked again and said, 'Oh no, that's more than $5,000,'" she said.

That "Holiday Gold" scratch-off was worth $50,000.

Her husband, a paving company employee, always rechecks her scratch-offs. When she handed the winning ticket to him, he was on an important phone call and didn't pay much attention to it.

"She always gives me the scratch-offs to look at because one time she thought it was a $5 prize and it was $50," he said.

This time, he got the surprise of his life.

"At this point, I'm not even paying attention to the phone call," he said.

The couple plans to pay their bills with their newfound wealth. The wife may also take a trip to visit a distant family member.

They aren't the only winners in this story. Giant at 842 Muddy Branch Rd. gets a $500 bonus for selling the top-prize ticket.