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A Baltimore woman is laughing her way to the bank after hitting it big and winning a $50,000 third-tier Powerball prize on her first try, even though she didn't know how to play the game.
She said that her family would muse about what it would like to hit a Lottery jackpot, though they never took their shot until the rookie player decided to pick up a Powerball ticket at Royal Farms on O'Donnell Street in Baltimore for the Wednesday, April 10 drawing.
According to the woman, she had no idea how to play the Lottery, but went for it anyway, buying two Mega Millions quick-pick and one $4 Powerball quick-pick ticket.
“To be honest, I was unsure how to play,” she said. “I walked up to the vending machine and was confused a little.”
Then the novice Lottery player showed how green she was in the game and forgot she even had purchased the tickets until a week later when Lady Luck gave her a gentle reminder.
"I spilled some water in my bag, and as I was cleaning it out, I found the ticket," she told Lottery officials. "I was like, 'oh yeah, I have this ticket to check.'"
The Baltimore City educator then downloaded the Lottery app onto her phone, scanned her ticket, and was instructed to "see retailer," which meant nothing to the woman playing for the first time.
A quick Google search gave her some very, very welcome answers.
“My sister looked up the winning numbers on the Lottery’s website,” the winner explained. “She told me I only missed the jackpot by one number and that I won $50,000. I fell out my chair at work.”
After a quick celebration - and another Google search about how to actually collect the cash - they made their way to Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore, where the winner's husband said that they can afford a better daycare for their young children, while the woman said they can plan a family vacation, make some home repairs, and save some for the kids.
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