FALLSTON, MD—“It was the clerk’s eyes,” a Harford County woman told Maryland Lottery officials when asked about the moment she realized that she’d won $2 million playing a scratch-off. “Her face told me everything.”

The retired office worker from Fallston is Maryland’s newest multimillionaire. The 55-year-old, who dubbed her win “Summer Home,” and her husband plan to invest much of her prize in the purchase of a vacation home for family gatherings.

The happy wife and mother took her first step toward the big win by stopping at a 7-Eleven while out picking up food from a nearby restaurant. She selected the $2,000,000 Gold Rush scratch-off, played it, and won $500. Arriving in the same area earlier this week, she remembered the lucky store and the lucky instant ticket and stopped by the 7-Eleven.

“I bought another of the $2,000,000 Gold Rush games, scratched it and checked it on the scanner. All I could see were zeroes. I thought the thing was broken.”

Confused, the loyal scratch-off player asked the cashier to run her instant ticket through the Maryland Lottery terminal to check for a win. She saw the clerk’s reaction and “that was when I knew.”

Stunned by her good fortune, the new multimillionaire called her husband at his office to say she was on the way to see him.

“She sounded hysterical,” he said. “I thought something awful had happened.” After she shared her news, the husband recalls feeling doubtful. “It was just too crazy, but I had my Lottery app to check it. There it was, $2 million.”

The couple plan to purchase a home in an area they often visit during vacations. “It’s peaceful and relaxing there,” they report. “We’ll get a place with room for the whole family.”

Also in the win zone is their lucky retailer. Their 7-Eleven located at 306 South Main Street in Bel Air will earn a $2,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the top-prize winning scratch-off.