76-Year-Old Bowie Woman Wins $100,000 Lotto Prize

Imagine you just realized you won $50,000 playing a Maryland Lottery game. Now, imagine the day you go to Lottery headquarters to redeem your prize, you find out your prize has been doubled. 

That's what happened to one Bowie resident recently, a 76-year-old woman who plays the Bonus Pick 5 daily, according to a statement issued by the Maryland Lottery.

Bowie's big winner purchased seven boards for $5 with five draws from Oct. 31-Nov. 4 from the Wegmans in Lanham. When she checked her numbers Nov. 3, she found out one of her tickets was a winner, and that she was $50,000 richer.

She immediately shared the big news with her family. “What? Are you sure? That’s phenomenal!” one daughter remembers saying to her mom, according to the Lottery statement. 

The lucky lady headed down to Maryland Lottery headquarters with her two adult daughters to claim her $50,000 prize only to discover that her ticket was a "doubler" and also qualified for a promotion that paid the taxes on her winnings. She was walking out with $100,000, tax-free.

Bowie's lotto winner still works, and will continue to do so. Her daughters have convinced her to keep the money instead of distributing it to family members. She told the Lottery that she will use some of her winnings for Christmas gifts but she does not have definite plans for the remainder of the money.