Maryland woman's change of mind leads to $50,000 lottery win

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A Maryland woman said she changed her mind at the last minute and purchased a scratch-off lottery ticket that earned her a $50,000 prize.

The Hagerstown woman told Maryland Lottery officials she normally buys tickets for drawings such as Powerball and Mega Millions.

"I'm actually a jackpot game player," she said. "But every once in a while, a scratch game catches my eye."

The woman stopped to buy gas in late December at AC&T on Dual Highway in Hagerstown and noticed the store sold lottery tickets.

"Instead of getting my usual Mega Millions and Powerball tickets, for some reason, I changed my mind," the player said.

She said a $1 Million Royale scratch-off ticket caught her eye.

"I don't know why," she said. "There was just something about that ticket."

The player said the ticket initially did not appear to be a winner.

"I had no matches, which was disappointing," she recalled. "But there was one symbol instead of a number there."

The symbol turned out to mean the woman had won a $50,000 prize.

"It was shock. It was disbelief. Could it really be $50,000?" she said.

The woman said she will share her winnings with family.

"A big event, I think," she said, "maybe a trip. Either way, it'll be all of us together."