National

Mom scratches her Maryland lottery ticket in the car — then makes her friend pull over

Chuck and Kimberly Fisher plan to use their winnings for a vacation.
Chuck and Kimberly Fisher plan to use their winnings for a vacation. Maryland Lottery

Chuck and Kimberly Fisher thought they got lucky after a successful casino trip in February. But their winnings didn’t end there.

The couple traveled about 40 miles from their home in Temperanceville, Virginia to Berlin, Maryland, where Chuck won big on a slot machine game, according to a Feb. 28 news release from Maryland Lottery officials. After a day of activities with friends, the group headed home.

During the drive, Kimberly got thirsty, so the group stopped to get a drink and cash in some winning scratch-offs they already had at a Royal Farms convenience store in Berlin, the couple told lottery officials.

While inside, Chuck — who said he always buys scratch-off tickets for his wife — realized Valentine’s Day was coming up, so he bought two $50,000 Cash instant tickets at a cost of $20 each for Kimberly as an early gift, officials said. Kimberly scratched both tickets back in the car.

At first, she thought she won $100, she told officials. She realized her prize was much bigger after taking a closer look.

“I scratch randomly all around the ticket and save the prizes for last,” Kimberly said, per the release. “I didn’t realize something was under the coins (symbols) at first.”

Underneath the symbols on one ticket was a $50,000, officials said.

“I told my friend to pull over and we all got out of the car and celebrated on the side of the road,” Kimberly told officials.

After celebrating, Kimberly called her two sons to tell them the news, according to officials.

Both Kimberly and Chuck are self-employed, so they plan to use their winnings to take a vacation before saving the rest, they told officials.

Temperanceville is about 180 miles east of Richmond.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Mom scratches her Maryland lottery ticket in the car — then makes her friend pull over."

Moira Ritter
mcclatchy-newsroom
Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.
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