Lucky woman's son copies another player's Pick 5 numbers and then she wins $50,000

Is this over-shoulder strategy legal, or simply just clever?   Photo: Stock compilation

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But when it is lottery numbers, does that work?

Apparently, it does–to the tune of thousands of dollars.

A Brandywine lady, aged 68, scooped up a $50,000 Maryland Lottery jackpot without coming up with the winning numbers herself.

$50K winner George Butcher came up with his numbers by looking at a license plate - worked for him!   Photo: Maryland Lottery

Instead, her luck came from copying another player's numbers for the Pick 5 lottery game. Here's how it all went down.

This clever move started at a place called Three Road Liquors, right on 13704 Brandywine Rd. in Brandywine.

The woman, who prefers to stay anonymous, usually sends her son to buy her lottery tickets.

Three Road Liquors on 13704 Brandywine Rd in Brandywine   Photo: Google Maps

On one of these trips, her son spotted another player's Pick 5 ticket and thought, "Why not try these numbers?"

So, he did just that for his mom. How nice.

Later that day, while waiting at the doctor's office, the woman decided to check the lottery results using the Maryland Lottery app on her phone.

While checking her phone at the doctors, the woman discovered her $50K win   Photo: Stock

To her astonishment, she discovered she had won a whopping $50,000.

The excitement was so overwhelming she had to take a moment to calm down before she could even think about driving back home.

Just as well she was at a medical center.

The winner plans to use her prize money to clear some bills and make improvements to her home.   Photo: Stock

Overjoyed, the woman shared, "This is much needed relief money."

She plans to use her windfall to clear some bills and make improvements to her home.

And there's a bonus on top: Three Road Liquors, the store that sold the lucky ticket, gets a $500 commission for their part in this happy story.


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