Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A Maryland Lottery scratch-off ticket worth $50,000 took a nearly 6,000-mile round trip when a man bought the ticket as a gift for his mother and mailed it to her in California.
The Hagerstown resident told Maryland Lottery officials he bought the Price is Right scratch-off ticket as a Mother's Day present and mailed it to his 73-year-old mother in California.
The mother, who frequently buys scratch-off tickets when she visits Maryland, ended up scratching off a $50,000 prize.
"My mom always gets a ticket or two when she's here to visit," said the son, who accompanied his mother to lottery headquarters to claim the prize. "When I saw the sign at the liquor store, I went in and bought her one. When she called me after it had arrived, I couldn't believe my ears."
The mother, a Long Beach, Calif., resident, said she had to wait five months before she could travel to Maryland to claim her prize, which she said is her largest-ever lottery win.
"I really was stunned," she said. "I've won $20 plenty of times, but I never imagined something like this. I even sent my son pictures of the ticket so he could make sure it was real."
