Childhood sweethearts use special numbers when they play Maryland lottery. It paid off

A couple of over 50 years leans on a tradition of using special numbers for the Maryland Lottery — birthdays and addresses they lived at when they started dating.

Their dedication paid off in a $100,000 Powerball win on Oct. 2, Maryland Lottery officials said in an Oct. 6 news release.

When they checked their $15 Powerball ticket, they noticed some of their numbers.

“We thought at first that we’d won $50,000,” they said. “It was so exciting!”

Then they checked their ticket with the lottery app and realized they added the Power Play multiplier that doubled their winnings to $100,000.

“We couldn’t believe it. We were both crying,” they told lottery officials.

The Baltimore couple described themselves as “childhood sweethearts” and have played the lottery as long as either of them can recall, they told lottery officials.

“We’ve won plenty of times over the years, but never anything like this,” they said.

The couple plans to retire soon, so they told officials this windfall is a “wonderful relief.”

After their good luck, they’re hoping they’ve hit a lucky streak and are eyeing “that billion-dollar Powerball jackpot,” they told lottery officials.

The Powerball jackpot is estimated to reach $1.725 billion on Oct. 11, making it the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history.

Playing Powerball

To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This story was originally published October 10, 2023 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Childhood sweethearts use special numbers when they play Maryland lottery. It paid off."