First Hello Money! Top Prize Claimed as D.C. Woman Wins $50,000

A 28-year-old Washington, D.C., woman became the first player to claim one of the $50,000 top prizes on the new $5 Hello Money! scratch-off game.

For someone who had never played a scratch-off before, her first experience certainly gave her something to celebrate, she revealed after claiming her prize Oct. 13 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

The winner grew up watching her mother play scratch-offs, but never had much of an interest in the games herself.

“I don’t like to gamble, I don’t like to lose money,” she said.

A Philadelphia Eagles fan, she also has an appreciation for Baltimore’s football team, affectionately referring to the Ravens as her “fellow birds.” Fittingly enough, she’s using the alias “Go Birds” to tell of her Lottery win.

After watching her favorite team get defeated, she then accompanied her mother, a regular Lottery player, to make her weekly purchases at the Wawa convenience store at 9600 Fort Meade Road in Laurel. The daughter figured since her team lost, she had nothing to lose herself and decided to try her luck with the $5 game.

Both women scratched their tickets in the car before heading home. As the 28-year-old scratched her ticket, she quickly noticed the $50,000 prize and showed it to her mother, who also examined the ticket.

But the two weren’t immediately convinced.

A few weeks earlier, the mother had mistakenly thought she won a prize on another ticket, only to discover it was a false alarm. That experience left the daughter hesitant to trust her mother’s assessment.

Still in disbelief, the D.C. resident took the ticket home for a third opinion. Her sister reviewed it and confirmed what the other two were suspecting: she really had won $50,000.

Once reality set in, excitement took over. She immediately got on the phone to tell her other three sisters.

She plans to use her winnings to buy a new car. The Wawa will receive a $500 bonus.