Stay-at-home mom buys wrong lottery ticket — but mistake pays off big time in Maryland

A woman’s accident won her an instant $50,000 after she bought the wrong scratch-off ticket from a self-service vending machine in Maryland.

The 43-year-old stay-at-home mom “thought she had wasted her money” after buying a $20 scratch-off ticket instead of a $2 one in Salisbury, according to a Feb. 24 news release by the Maryland Lottery.

To her surprise she realized she had won a top prize after scratching the $50,000 Cash ticket, lotto officials said.

The mother was “still in shock while claiming the ticket at Lottery headquarters on Feb. 23,” officials said. She doesn’t have plans for her new winnings yet.

The Royal Farms store where the woman bought the winning ticket will receive a $500 bonus, officials said.

The “game launched in December with 160 $50,000 prizes,” the news release said, and 138 of those winning tickets remain.

Salisbury is about 120 miles southeast of Baltimore.

This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Stay-at-home mom buys wrong lottery ticket — but mistake pays off big time in Maryland."