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Each week, the Prince George's County woman says she and her husband have a routine where they pick up a handful of specific Lottery tickets from area stores, but not until she has studied information online about which prizes are still available for each game.
She said that she always expected to win big at some point, so the five-figure prize came as no shock to her after her plan paid off.
According to the woman, she makes a "shopping list" of games to play, using specific criteria to determine which ones, most importantly, which have the most top-prize winning tickets remaining.
“The website shows how many big-money winning tickets are still unclaimed for each game. I look for the ones that still have lots of big winners.”
This time, the big winner came on a $20 100X The Cash instant ticket, which still has many top prizes available, despite being on sale for several months.
The woman said she noted there were four $1 million jackpots still up for grabs, and that's why it made her list. It also has four $50,000 second-tier prizes - one fewer than a week ago, now - as well as six $10,000 winning tickets out there.
This winning ticket was sold at Freddie's Liquors on Marlboro Pike in Forestville.
“When I scratched it at home, I handed it to my husband and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this.’” He took a look and laughed. “He told me, ‘You always said you were going to hit a big one. You finally did it.’”
The retired Upper Marlboro couple says they plan on using the winnings on some long-overdue home repair projects, though the winner vowed she'd soon be back at Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore with a $1 million golden ticket.
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