Beginner's luck earns Maryland Lottery player $100,000

UPI
A Maryland woman bought a scratch-off lottery ticket for the first time and scored a $100,000 prize. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A Maryland woman bought her first-ever lottery ticket and her beginner's luck earned her a $100,000 top prize.

The Charles County woman told Maryland Lottery officials she occasionally considered buying lottery tickets in the past, but she doesn't usually have any cash.

"I almost never carry cash," she said. "If I'd had cash in my purse those other times the thought popped into my mind, I would have gotten one. But I never did."

The woman said she was recently at US Fuel in Waldorf when she thought about playing.

"I was paying for the gas with cash when I noticed the lottery signs," she recalled.

She ended up buying a $10 Mega Bucks scratch-off ticket.

"I had a $10 bill and it was the first $10 ticket I saw," the player explained.

The woman scratched off a $100,000 prize.

"I didn't want to get too excited," she said. "It was the first game I'd ever played. Maybe I wasn't reading the rules correctly."

The player had a family member take a second look at the ticket, and they confirmed it was a top prize winner.

"I was shocked. My palms started sweating. I just could not believe it," she said.

The winner didn't reveal any of her plans for the money.

"All of my life people have told me that I'm unlucky," she said. "This proves them all wrong."