Mom buys friend’s scratch-off recommendation. Then her ‘heart started beating so fast’

A woman listened to her friend’s suggestion and it helped her land a massive lottery win, Maryland officials said.

The Prince George’s County mom of two was heading home after shopping with her son when she realized she’d forgotten an essential item on her list – scratch-offs, according to a Sept. 13 news release by the Maryland Lottery .

The woman dropped her son off and remembered she wanted to buy the tickets, but she didn’t know the “area very well,” officials said.

While trying to find a lottery retailer, a check-cashing store’s “jackpot sign” in the door caught her eye, officials said.

She bought a $10 Ravens X10 ticket, the release said. She had no idea it was carrying the top prize of $200,000.

“This was the ticket I’d planned to get at the grocery store with my son. A friend of mine won $500 and $75 playing it last week. She recommended that I try it,” the lucky winner told officials.

Then the woman scratched the ticket in the store, officials said.

“My heart started beating so fast. It was overwhelming,” she told lotto officials.

She rushed home to share the good news with her husband, the release said.

“He was doubtful at first, just as I had been,” she said in the release. “It took a while, but eventually he could accept what had happened. It was a wonderful moment.”

The winner’s first priority is paying off her home’s mortgage, something she’s been itching to do “for a long while,” the release said.

“There were times that we thought it’d never happen,” she said.

The woman’s win means there are still eight $200,000 top prizes left to be claimed, officials said.

Prince George’s County is about a 50-mile drive southwest of Baltimore.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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