Lottery ‘homework’ led woman to specific ticket. Then she ‘stopped breathing’

An avid lottery player always “dreamed of finding a really big winner” and now her wish has come true, Maryland officials said.

The Baltimore woman went looking for a specific lottery game after doing her “homework” which consists of going on the lottery’s website and researching which games still have “big prizes remaining,” according to a May 22 news release by the Maryland Lottery.

“I’ve had lots of luck with scratch-off tickets,” she told lottery officials.

The retired adult-daycare provider had no idea she’d soon scratch a $10 Ravens X10 ticket with a $200,000 prize, officials said.

“I think I stopped breathing when I finished scratching,” she told lottery officials. “There were matches all over the place.”

After scratching the ticket, the woman “allowed her excitement to manifest in a quick dance,” the release said.

“I was so excited about winning that I didn’t even add up all the prizes,” she told officials.

After coming to terms with the magnitude of her win, she was finally able to start “breathing again,” officials said.

“I needed to take a deep breath to start sending out prayers of thanks,” she said in the release.

Although the lucky winner didn’t specify what she’ll do with the winnings, she said it “couldn’t have come at a better time,” officials said.

This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Lottery ‘homework’ led woman to specific ticket. Then she ‘stopped breathing’."