BALTIMORE, MD – A Baltimore grandmother in her 80s known as “Goofy Ruthie” recently cashed in on her long history with lottery games by winning $50,000 on a Lucky Riches scratch-off ticket. The win occurred while her husband was busy loading groceries into their car at a Baltimore County Giant grocery store.
Ruthie explained the scenario to Lottery officials: “We do all of our grocery shopping at the Giant and my husband was putting the groceries in the car. I snuck back in and got one ticket.” She bought the $5 ticket from the Lottery vending machine in Giant #108, located at 6340 York Road in Baltimore, and had the ticket scanned at the store’s Customer Service Center. At first, Ruthie believed she had won $5,000.
However, upon further verification at another store, she discovered the prize was much larger. “They told me it was $50,000,” Ruthie recounted. Her husband’s response to the news? “He said he didn’t want anything,” she chuckled. The prize money, however, will be shared with her adult children, extending the family’s tradition of engaging with lottery games.
The win not only benefits “Goofy Ruthie” and her family but also brings a windfall to the store that sold the winning ticket. Giant #108 will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize scratch-off.
The Lucky Riches game, which went on sale on February 20, still has two top prizes available, along with more than 295,000 other prizes ranging from $5 to $1,000.