Big lottery win helps couple take their honeymoon trip — 57 years after their wedding

Marion East doesn’t usually play scratch-offs.

Recently though, the Somerset County resident was feeling lucky, so he grabbed some lottery tickets while stopping for gas at Crisfield Oceanic, according to a March 23 Maryland Lottery news release.

“Give me a winner,” East, 79, told the cashier when he bought his tickets, he told officials.

East took his tickets home and, while he was waiting for dinner, started scratching a Fat Wallet ticket.

“The very last number I scratched was a matching number,” East told officials. “When I scratched the prize, I thought it was only for $50.”

As he kept scratching though, East realized his prize was actually much bigger: He won a $50,000 top prize.

“I hollered and my son came running,” Marion told officials. “He looked at the ticket and said, ‘Yeah dad, it’s a winner.’”

Now, East — who is a grandfather, U.S. Army veteran and retired boat mechanic — will use his winnings to take his wife on a honeymoon, according to officials.

East and his wife have been married nearly 58 years, but they never had a honeymoon, East told officials. He said he will use his remaining winnings to pay bills and make investments.

Somerset County is 150 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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