Husband ‘floored’ by massive lottery win rushes to wake wife. ‘Thought I was dreaming’
A Maryland woman was sleeping peacefully when her husband decided to check their lottery tickets.
“To his astonishment,” one of his wife’s Mega Millions tickets for the Dec. 10 drawing won a massive prize, Maryland Lottery officials said in a Jan. 17 news release.
“Floored, he rushed to wake me up,” the wife told lottery officials. “At first, I thought I was dreaming.”
But it wasn’t a dream; she won a $1 million prize by matching all five white numbers and missing only the Mega Ball, lottery officials said
“I’m still speechless, but I feel so blessed to receive a gift like this,” the wife said in the release.
The husband picked up two tickets for himself and two for his wife, the woman told lottery officials.
They had their sights set on the $619 million jackpot, but even though they missed it, the wife said “this (win) is still such a blessing.”
The couple brought their ticket back to the Bel Air store where the husband bought it and verified their win on the $2 ticket.
“Since then, they’ve shared the news only with their children,” lottery officials said, adding that the couple plans to keep their win a secret.
The couple told lottery officials they plan to save and invest their winnings.
“I hope to help my family, make a generous donation to our church, and ensure we have savings for the future,” the woman told lottery officials.
Despite the massive win, the couple told lottery officials they won’t stop playing lottery games anytime soon.
“Now we really have the money to play, so we’ll keep going,” the wife said in the release.
Bel Air is about a 30-mile drive northeast from Baltimore.
What to know about Mega Millions
To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350.
Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state. Officials have announced they will cost $5 starting in April.
Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Husband ‘floored’ by massive lottery win rushes to wake wife. ‘Thought I was dreaming’."
