Big lottery win helps couple take their honeymoon trip — 57 years after their wedding
Marion East doesn’t usually play scratch-offs.
Recently though, the Somerset County resident was feeling lucky, so he grabbed some lottery tickets while stopping for gas at Crisfield Oceanic, according to a March 23 Maryland Lottery news release.
“Give me a winner,” East, 79, told the cashier when he bought his tickets, he told officials.
East took his tickets home and, while he was waiting for dinner, started scratching a Fat Wallet ticket.
“The very last number I scratched was a matching number,” East told officials. “When I scratched the prize, I thought it was only for $50.”
As he kept scratching though, East realized his prize was actually much bigger: He won a $50,000 top prize.
“I hollered and my son came running,” Marion told officials. “He looked at the ticket and said, ‘Yeah dad, it’s a winner.’”
Now, East — who is a grandfather, U.S. Army veteran and retired boat mechanic — will use his winnings to take his wife on a honeymoon, according to officials.
East and his wife have been married nearly 58 years, but they never had a honeymoon, East told officials. He said he will use his remaining winnings to pay bills and make investments.
Somerset County is 150 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published March 23, 2023 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Big lottery win helps couple take their honeymoon trip — 57 years after their wedding."
