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The lucky winner said that she typically buys tickets once a week, shooting for the jackpot games such as Powerball or Mega Millions, and while she didn't hit the $1.09 billion jackpot for the drawing on Wednesday, April 3, she struck gold on a ticket sold at Royal Farms on Montevideo Road in Jessup.
“I know the odds are long,” she said, “but somebody always eventually wins.”
She sure did, but didn't realize it immediately, the woman mused.
“My nephew called me the next day to tell me that someone in Howard County had won $1 million playing Powerball,” the self-employed trainer explained. He encouraged her to check the ticket, though her busy schedule delayed her realizing she was a millionaire.
“I didn’t expect anything when I eventually scanned the tickets on my Lottery app, even when I saw the odd message,” she added.
That message? Instructing her to take the golden ticket to a Lottery retailer to confirm the cash windfall. She was unable to immediately do so, and instead visited the Maryland Lottery website to gather some information.
“The first thing I saw was that the million-dollar ticket was sold at the Royal Farms in Jessup where I bought mine. That’s when I got excited.” Moments later, after comparing the Powerball results with her ticket, she said aloud, “I just won a million dollars.”
Hands trembling, the woman said that she FaceTimed her husband and children to share the unexpected news.
“When they answered the call they were worried – I didn’t even realize that I was crying.”
Maryland’s newest Lottery millionaire plans to erase business debt, buy a new car, fortify her retirement fund and share her good fortune with the family.
“This is an amazing blessing, almost too much to believe.”
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