Lottery player went to store for groceries — but ‘just went home’ when she saw prize
A Maryland woman’s grocery shopping trip was cut short when she bought a winning lottery ticket.
The Suitland resident made a stop at a lottery vending machine at a Giant Food grocery store in District Heights on Feb. 23, according to a Feb. 27 Maryland Lottery news release. When she pulled out her Winning 7 ticket, she was “stunned” at how much she won, lottery officials said.
“I had intended to go shopping, but I just went home,” she told lottery officials.
Her $5 ticket was worth $57,777, according to lottery officials. The machine flashed instructions to take the ticket to the lottery headquarters when she scanned it, which confused her at first.
“I thought there was something wrong with the machine,” she said in the release.
The woman rushed her ticket to one of the grocery store clerks for them to check her prize, lottery officials said. When the clerk confirmed she won, the winner decided she would head home rather than continue on with her errands, according to lottery officials.
She called her niece to tell her the news, all while “screaming with delight,” lottery officials said.
She claimed her prize on Feb. 27, alongside her niece, lottery officials said.
“I’ve been playing for years. I do it all. Scratch-offs, Powerball, Mega Millions,” the woman told lottery officials. “This is the biggest payout!”
The lottery player has plans on how to use her windfall of cash. She told lottery officials she wants to pay off her car loan, look into buying a home and “bless some people” in her life.
A “celebratory dinner” for the woman and her niece is also on her agenda, according to lottery officials.
Suitland is about 10 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Lottery player went to store for groceries — but ‘just went home’ when she saw prize."
