Maryland couple plans retirement after $500K scratch-off win

• A Dundalk man told his wife to buy Gifts of Green tickets after seeing there are several top prizes in play
• The couple was in shock and disbelief after the $20 Gifts of Green ticket they purchased brought them a once-in-a-lifetime $500,000 top prize
• Two top prizes of $500,000 each remain in play from the popular scratch-off game

A couple will be looking forward to a peaceful retirement thanks to a life-changing six-figure lottery prize.

That’s the story of a Dundalk couple, who scored one of the top prizes from a popular game from the Maryland Lottery.

$20 scratch-off ticket brings $500,000 prize

The husband and wife both work at a Maryland college and admitted in an interview that they are avid scratch-off players.

While they are both near retirement, they were worried about this upcoming change in their lives.

Luckily, the husband did research about outstanding top prizes from Maryland Lottery scratch-off games and told his wife to purchase several tickets, naming them specifically.

The couple did some shopping at Walmart on 2399 North Point Boulevard in Dundalk and decided to buy scratch-off tickets.

Once at home and when they put away all of the groceries, the couple started to scratch off the tickets they bought.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for the couple to uncover a life-changing prize.

"My eyes went back and forth between the (dollar sign) symbol and the $500,000 beneath it and the game’s rules. I could not believe what I was seeing," the woman said.

Looking at his wife, the husband noticed her change of tone and eyes and instantly realized they had won a big prize.

Indeed, the couple was incredibly lucky, considering that they scored one of the top prizes from Gifts of Green for a whopping $500,000 payday.

The duo visited the Maryland Lottery to claim their newfound fortune.

"We’ve been trying to figuring out how retirement was going to work for us. This takes away so many of the worries," the woman explained.

Moreover, the Baltimore couple admitted that they plan to buy a new car too, while setting aside what’s left for their retirement.

Gifts of Green offers many prizes

It was mid-October when the Maryland Lottery introduced the Gifts of Green ticket.

Each scratch-off costs $20, and it offers players a chance to win a prize between $20 and $500,000.

While initially, Gifts of Green offered seven top prizes of $500,000 each, after the latest win, two such prizes remain in play.

A tier-two prize from the $20 ticket awards $25,000 and there are two such prizes up for grabs.

On the other hand, a tier-three prize from Gifts of Green awards $5,000 and there are 19 out of 68 such prizes still in play.

Within the lower prize tiers, between $1,000 and $20, there are thousands of prizes remaining.

The overall odds of winning any prize from the $20 game are 1 in 2.83.

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