Rockville Man’s Enjoyment with Crossword Scratch-offs Helps Him Win $50K

There was excitement in a Rockville home after a Lottery player matched eight words on the $5 Deluxe Crossword 10th edition game and won the top prize of $50,000.

“After I saw it, I was screaming,” the winner said Sept. 18 after claiming his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

The Rockville man was home by himself and had to share the news with his wife. When she received the text from her husband, she was skeptical.

“I didn’t think it was real. I thought he was joking with me,” she said, having accompanied her husband when he claimed the prize.

The couple plans to place the $50,000 into savings.

Each Deluxe Crossword scratch-off provides the player with 20 letters. Players use those letters to spell out complete words on each of two puzzles. The Montgomery County winner was able to find four black works in Puzzle 1 and four red words in Puzzle 2 to secure the $50,000 win.

According to the automotive worker, he prefers scratch-offs that are time consuming and that give him a challenge.

“I only play two scratch-offs. Crosswords and bingo scratch-offs. I like the surprise of those games,” he said. He’s not alone in his devotion to crossword and bingo games, so the Lottery coordinates its game release schedule to ensure such games are always available for purchase.

Wheaton Winery at 2211-B University Boulevard in Silver Spring sold the top prize scratch-off and will receive a $500 bonus.

The $5 Deluxe Crossword 10th Edition hit stores in September of 2025 and the Rockville player is the fifth person to claim a top prize on the game, leaving another three at that level unclaimed. Meanwhile, the game’s 11th edition was released this week, Sept. 18 to be exact, and has another eight top-tier prizes at the $50,000 level.