Sandra and Albert Russell turned two $5 scratch-off wins into a $50,000 prize on the Holiday Cash scratch-off.
Win top prize on Holiday Cash scratch-off
A Carroll County couple’s trip to the grocery store ended later that day with a $50,000 top-prize win on the Holiday Cash scratch-off.
Sandra Russell of Westminster said that she and her husband Albert received their change from grocery shopping and decided to each purchase two scratch-offs. That purchase resulted in two $5 prizes. While on their way home, they were deciding whether to keep the $10 prize or purchase more scratch-offs while on their way home.
“I said, ‘Let’s buy two $5 scratch offs,'” Sandra recalled telling her husband.
Albert went inside the Westminster Royal Farms #062 and bought two $5 Holiday Cash scratch-offs. It turns out that Sandra made a great decision, as one of those holiday instant tickets resulted in a top-prize win of $50,000. The lucky lady said she saw the words “autowin” with a “ball” symbol over a prize listed as $50,000.
“I didn’t believe that ball was real. I had to take it back to the store to make sure,” said the 78-year-old.
Staff at the Royal Farms store located at 1818 Baltimore Boulevard confirmed that the scratch-off was a top-prize winner. The Carroll County retailer benefits from its lucky sale, too, by receiving a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a $50,000 top-prize winning instant ticket.
The Russells live on a farm in Westminster. Albert said he would like to purchase a new riding lawn mower with some of the prize and they are still deciding how to spend the rest of their windfall. “We are still in shock,” Sandra explained.
They are the second top-prize winners in the Holiday Cash game. The first top-prize winning instant ticket was purchased by an Anne Arundel County resident.
The Holiday Cash game went on sale Oct. 23. There are still six top prizes unclaimed along with 10 $5,000 prizes and others ranging from $5 to $1,000. This instant ticket is one of nine holiday-themed scratch-offs and FAST PLAY games that can lead to big prizes in the Holiday Cash second-chance promotion. The promotion, which began Oct. 23, offers 12 weeks of drawings with prizes of $5,000 and $100,000. Players enter non-winning holiday scratch-offs and any winning or non-winning holiday-themed FAST PLAY games into their My Lottery Rewards account to qualify. For details, visit the Promotions page.
