A Maryland woman was at work at a grocery store when she missed a call saying she won a lottery prize. She didn’t believe it at first.
“I spoke to the guy from the Department of Health on my way home, and when he said I really was the winner, I told him, ‘I have to pull over now,’” she told Maryland Lottery officials.
Giant Food deli counter employee Deidre Poore Eagan claimed her $40,000 prize on Tuesday, becoming the the first person to claim winnings from Maryland’s $2 Million VaxCash Promotion. The lottery aims to boost the number of residents vaccinated against COVID-19. A photo shows Eagan grinning with an oversized check.
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Eagan, 55, of Towson, said she and her husband were eager to get vaccinated.
"I’m around people all day at work, so I got vaccinated because I didn’t want to chance bringing something home that would make my husband sick,” she told lottery officials.
Any Maryland resident who gets vaccinated against the virus is eligible to receive a lottery prize of up to $400,000, Gov. Larry Hogan announced last month. Every day for 40 days since May 25, the Maryland Lottery will give away a $40,000 prize to someone who was vaccinated. There will be a final drawing for a $400,000 winner on July 4. A total of $2 million will be given away, with funds coming from the lottery’s marketing budget, Hogan said.
Eagan and her husband told lottery officials they would use the prize money to pay bills and possibly buy a new car.
