Arlington – A 64-year-old woman from Arlington, Virginia, found herself $50,000 richer after playing Powerball at MGM National Harbor casino in Maryland. While the woman generally doesn’t make frequent trips to Maryland, she was lured by the Powerball’s near record-breaking jackpot of $1.765 billion that concluded on October 11.
“Virginia sells Powerball,” she told Lottery officials, “but I can’t play the Double Play there. When I play, I like the Double Play so I come up here for tickets.”
The woman took advantage of the Double Play feature, an extra $1 option that enters a Powerball ticket into a second drawing immediately following the regular drawing. It was through this add-on feature that she won her $50,000 prize. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I scanned it,” she said. Initially confused by the multiple zeros displayed on the scanner, she soon realized her win was far greater than the $5,000 she initially thought she had won. “I stayed as calm as I could and hurried to my car,” she added.
The winner, who works as a federal contractor, had to wait a few days for a family member to accompany her to Baltimore to claim her prize. During that time, she took no chances. “I arranged to telework for those days. I didn’t want that thing out of my sight,” she shared.
The winning $50,000 Powerball ticket was dispensed by a lottery vending machine at the MGM casino located at 101 MGM National Avenue, Oxon Hill. Those feeling lucky might want to mark that location for future reference.