News writer, Interviewer
Can a store clerk sense a winner before the ticket reveals the truth?
Karen L. of Rosedale didn't check her Maryland Lottery Holiday Raffle ticket for three days after the January 2 drawing. When she finally scanned it on January 5, her phone displayed a simple message: "Go to Lottery."
She thought she'd won one of the ten $100,000 prizes. She took the ticket to a store to confirm.
Before scanning it, the clerk looked at her and made a bold prediction. Karen recalled:
She said to me, 'It's you. I know it's you.'
The clerk was right. The ticket was worth $1 million.
A mother's birthday becomes a million-dollar date
Karen held ticket number 136188. But the number that mattered most was January 2—both the drawing date and her late mother's birthday.
"I think it is my mom again. She is helping me with my retirement," Karen said with a smile when she claimed her prize on January 7 at the Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.
The Baltimore County resident maintains a weekly lottery budget. She usually buys Powerball, Mega Millions, and scratch-offs. But the $20 Holiday Raffle ticket was something different. Something special.
Her first Holiday Raffle purchase became her retirement fund.
The win hasn't sunk in yet
Karen has plans for her windfall. A new car. Home renovations. Getting her finances squared away. Building up savings.
"It still hasn't hit me yet," she said.
The winning ticket was sold at the 7-Eleven at 1801 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville.
How the Maryland Holiday Raffle works
The Maryland Lottery Holiday Raffle ran from November 3 through January 1, with the final drawing on January 2. The game offered 10,000 prizes ranging from $50 to $1 million.
Tickets cost $20 each and were numbered sequentially. This year, 237,206 tickets sold—well short of the 325,000 printed.
Unlike traditional draw games or scratch-offs, players simply purchased a numbered ticket and waited to see if their number was drawn. No picking numbers. No scratching. Just wait.
The raffle included three Early Bird drawings before the main event, each awarding $50,000. The final drawing on January 2 featured the $1 million grand prize, ten $100,000 prizes, and thousands of smaller cash awards.
Overall odds of winning any prize were 1 in 32.46.
What would you do with a million dollars?
Karen knows. But would you check your ticket three days after the drawing?
Some winners can't wait. Others, like Karen, need time before facing the truth.
Perhaps her mother knew she'd need those three days to prepare for her new reality as a millionaire.
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