A 49-year-old woman and her daughter came to Maryland Lottery headquarters Monday carrying a locked safe. Inside was the $24 million Mega Millions winning ticket from last Tuesday's drawing.
As she sat hugging her oversized check, the winner told Lottery officials her story.
The winner almost didn't purchase the ticket that ultimately made her a multi-millionaire.
"I went to the store to play a $5 Quick Pick ticket," she told Lottery officials. "After running the $5 playslip through the terminal, I told the clerk to give me another $5 Quick Pick. I just had a feeling and that second ticket wound up being the winner."
When the North Carolina native woke up Wednesday morning, on her birthday, she heard that the winning ticket was sold at Carroll Station, the same location where she made her purchase. "At that point, I just knew it was me," she said. That's when the mother-of-two checked her neighbor's newspaper for the numbers.
As the winner sat in disbelief with Lottery officials today, she grabbed hold of the oversized check and wouldn't let go.
Before the win, the grandmother-of-three and her daughter were planning to move out of state. Those plans haven't changed, but along with a new house, the winner can finally get her dream car — a 2009 Lexus truck.
Store worker kisses each ticket for luck
Perhaps a bit of extra luck was passed on by the store clerk who sold the winning ticket.
For about two months, Marlene Webster has kissed the lottery tickets — even scratch-offs — she sold behind the bar at Carroll Station, her family's restaurant on Washington Boulevard. Customers have won as much as $600 and as little as $1.
Webster confirmed her reputation for passing on some luck at 6:22 p.m. Tuesday, when she pecked a Mega Millions ticket now worth an estimated $24 million.
"That's my signature thingamajiggy now," she said.
Webster and her younger brother, Robert Lyseight, who runs the restaurant, had a good idea of who held the winning ticket, even before the winner claimed her prize today.
Carroll Station gets a prize of its own, beyond the new "Jackpot" banner hanging from the blue awning outside.
The restaurant will receive a $25,000 "agent bonus" for making the winning sale, which Lyseight said he will invest in the business.
"It's a boost. It's a well-needed boost," he said. "We are so excited that we sold the winning Mega Millions ticket at our store."
Lyseight opened the restaurant a year and a half ago, with help from a friend and his Jamaican-born sister, brother and mother.
Webster repeated her tradition yesterday for customers who bought lottery tickets. But lottery office workers who walked over from Montgomery Park could only order the Caribbean or American favorites for lunch. The office building houses the Maryland State Lottery Agency, and its employees are not allowed to play.
Carroll Station began selling lottery tickets about four months ago, and slowly more and more regulars have started to buy them there, Lyseight said.
Now that a $24 million winner was sold there, Webster may be kissing a lot more tickets every day.
The store that sold the winning $24 million Mega Millions lottery ticket - where each lottery ticket is kissed for luck.
Marlene Webster, who kissed the winning lottery ticket, and Robert Lyseight, who runs the restaurant.
WTG! $5 qp wins $24 million jackpot!!! Very smart lady!!!
Maryland must allow their winners to remain anonymous.A lot of other states could learn from this.There is no reason to announce the winners name.
I'd probably be just like her! Holding the oversized lottery check so tight my hands would be bleeding! LOL Big eyed and fumbling over my words.
I'm almost scared to win the lottery because I'd be in such shock, I'd look and talk like an idiot! What would you all do? Do you think you can remain calm and explain in detail the moment you realized your ticket was the winner? All with a beautiful smile on your face...
OR...
Stand there staring like a deer in headlights to all the lights and cameras while questions are thrown at you. "How do you feel?! Do you have any plans for the money?! Are you moving?! Will you continue to play?!"
I'd sit there sweating and shaking going something like "I'mma....Well-uh.....I don't-uh.............I can't-uh.....(think dummy! THINK! SAY SOMETHING!)
But I think I'd better start looking in the mirror and practicing my speech. Well since I'm hoping no one will win next PB drawing, and I'll win that baby this next coming Saturday!
I would still be in shock...imagine your dreams (reasonable ones) coming true over night...its life changing for the ones who use it to their advantage..times are hard these day and when my turn comes there will be more than just one winner!!!!....sharing is my middle name...congrats to the family, and i wish them well
MILLION'$$$$$$$$ with a $5>>>>>>> QP^!^?????
Most people don't remember PSYKO quick-trix's when QP's were not
C@@L>>>>>>>>>>(what was D boat's name???)
NAME the SAILBOAT and HIT the JACKPOT$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
LOL
PSYKOMO
LOL Psykomo, you're a crazy dude...I like you man.
I believe the winning numbers to this JP was 22-23-28-49-52------ 2.
All numbers are potential winners until the draw shows them to be worthless. But I'm just wondering..putting that idea away, what would your first thought be if you were handed this combo on say a single qp ticket.
"Good numbers! I'm so going to win!"
"UG these numbers are horrible!"
"I'm going to think positive and who knows!..They just might win me a few bucks."
I always seem to think very negative, esp. if my ticket shows numbers close like the 22-23-28. But it never fails that it totally shoots down my negativity when they come up just like that...alot!
I'm happy for her, maybe someday it will happen to me. Ya just never know.
The Granny has really proved me wrong-because I use to beleive that "Quik picks' does not win a lottery..any way congragulations to her,-
Perhaps $ 24 Million is huge sum of Money-
The Guys at the restaurant also deserve a a well token earn of appreciations for kissing the Winning Ticket...
Kissess from me too....
It's about 10 million dollars with taking the cash option and taking off the initial taxes and yes, that is a lot of money.
Most jackpot winners are from quick/quik/easy picks
Oh and congrats to this lady, at least she had enough sense to take advantage of Maryland's anonymity laws and decided to leave her name out of the news and stay away from the media. Guess she doesn't have a need to call up the media to alert them she won and advertise her religion, if she's religious that is.
Yes, that was a diss on ol'whatshisname.
Congrats to the women who won! I wished all states would allow winners to have the choice to claim their prizes anonymously.
"a 24 mill kiss i'll take that sugar everyday"
I don't play QP usually I use algorithms. I don't play 10 tickets on a jackpot under 100M. Sometimes my prg. gives out "weird" numbers like that and I play them because the prg. is not prejudiced about numeric distributions on ball-drawings as opposed to computerized drawings like Hot Lotto. The thing is, weird sets DO come out, and they come out less often because they are of a smaller group of combinations such as "22 and higher" for the sheer reason that excluding the first 21 balls greatly reduces the pool. Ditto only the even or odd sets. Just because more winners are QP or more winners have 3 even/2 odd etc. doesn't mean that such number sets are more likely to beat the 180M odds than their "weird" counterparts. The only way to figure out "more likely" sets is with algorithms and BACKTESTING.
If the store clerk kissed MY ticket I'd be like "Mundo Disgusto!!!" and promptly spray it with disinfectant. I'd have to bring it in a sealed Biohazard baggie while wearing gloves and a mask. Not to mention that maybe the lottery paper or ink is harmful if ingested??? They sure smell funky!