Retired grandma wins big lottery prize during Maryland pit-stop. ‘Joyful moment’

A grandmother who’s been a faithful lottery player ended up scoring big after buying scratch-offs during a pit-stop, Maryland officials said.

The retiree has been playing games for more than two decades, and stopped by a Baltimore store to pick up her weekly games before going home to eat dinner, according to a June 10 news release by the Maryland Lottery.

After finishing up her meal, she scratched her tickets then scanned them using the lottery app — she had no idea her $100,000 Crossword 8th Edition would score her the jackpot win of $100,000, officials said.

After scanning the ticket, the woman was prompted with a message that read, “Winner, take to Lottery,” the release said.

“I was quite surprised and excited that I won that much money, but not surprised that I won,” she told lottery officials.

That’s when she told her husband to come into the room so he could double check the win, officials said.

The two had a “joyful moment” after realizing the win was real, officials said.

The lucky winner plans to pay bills and “enjoy her retirement a little more comfortably,” according to the release.

“I’m retired, so I plan to enjoy my winnings,” she told lottery officials, but she has no intention to stop playing games, officials said.

This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Retired grandma wins big lottery prize during Maryland pit-stop. ‘Joyful moment’."