Maryland lottery player plans retirement after $2m scratch-off win

• The first top prize from the Maryland Lottery’s Diamonds & Gold ticket was won by a Laurel player
• The winner, an avid reader, was surprised by the life-changing $2m top prize
• Many more prizes, including one $2m top prize, remain for grabs

A passionate reader who likes lottery games won a once-in-a-lifetime multi-million-dollar prize.

That’s the story of a Laurel woman, who scored on of the top prizes from the Maryland Lottery’s Diamonds & Gold ticket.

Passionate reader and scratch-off player wins big

The winner, chose to remain anonymous and picked an alias "Book Worm," hinting to her passion for reading.

The woman, who has been living in Laurell for the last five years, but was a Washington D.C. native, said in an interview for the Maryland Lottery that she likes spending time with her sister at a book club.

Moreover, "Book Worm" said that she likes playing the lottery, mentioning Pick 3 and Pick 4 tickets as a frequent choice.

The fortunate player admitted that she buys tickets weekly at 7-Eleven at 14001 Baltimore Avenue in Laurel.

Staying true to this tradition, the woman recently visited the store in what she thought would be an ordinary run for lottery tickets.

Little did "Book Worm" know that this time, she would win a life-changing prize.

The lucky player visited the store and after purchasing several tickets decided to scratch them off on the spot.

While some of the tickets were non-winners, "Book Worm" saw that that wasn’t the case for her Diamonds & Gold ticket.

The winner said that she immediately knew the ticket was a winner but didn’t know how much the prize was.

After the handing the ticket over to the clerk the woman was in shock and disbelief, hearing that she had just won one of the top prizes from the scratch-off ticket for a whopping $2m payday.

The Laurel woman then returned to her car but was too excited to drive and called her sister to help.

While she won the Diamonds & Gold top prize on June 30, the fortunate woman waited until this week to claim her fortune.

Since winning the prize, she had carefully planned how she would spend her newfound fortune and admitted that a trip to Paris, France, is at the top of her list.

Moreover, the incredibly lucky player said that she will retire from her job at a local grocery store.

Diamonds & Gold offers one more top prize of $2m

Each Diamonds & Gold ticket costs $30 and offers 38 chances to win a prize between $30 and $2m.

The popular game was introduced by the Maryland Lottery in mid-April.

The $2m top prize won by the lucky Laurel woman marked the first such prize from Diamonds & Gold.

One more top prize of $2m remains in play from the popular ticket.

A tier-two prize from the $30 ticket awards $50,000 and out of four at ticket launch, three such prizes remain in play.

Players, who win a tier-three prize from Diamonds & Gold can enjoy a $10,000 payday, and there are eight such prizes remaining.

Within the lower prize tiers, many more prizes between $5,000 and $30 are still up for grabs.

The overall odds of winning any prize from Diamonds & Gold are 1 in 2.81.

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