Tuesday’s Lucky Charm: How Sending Her Grandson to the Store Led to a Second $50,000 Lottery Win This Year

A Maryland woman’s weekly tradition of sending her grandson out to buy lottery tickets has paid off for the second time this year. The Germantown resident recently won another $50,000 Pick 5 prize, bringing her 2026 jackpot total to $100,000. At this point, Tuesday isn’t a weekday. It’s a business strategy.

The winner told Maryland Lottery officials that every Tuesday, she sends her grandson to the store to pick up her usual Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5 tickets. According to UPI, one of those routine lottery runs produced a $50,000-winning Pick 5 ticket for the August 23 drawing.

The lucky ticket came from Town Center Sunoco on Germantown Road in Germantown. Even more remarkably, this wasn’t her first encounter with five matching digits this year. She had already won another $50,000 prize from a drawing earlier in 2026. Apparently, lightning can strike twice and your grandson can help increase your chances of winning a grand prize.

Tuesday Has Become a Very Profitable Tradition

Winning $50,000 would probably be enough to make most people stare at their ticket several dozen times. For this Maryland grandmother, however, there was the added realization that she’d somehow managed to make history repeat itself. 

“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I hit the five-digit again,’” she reportedly recalled. Naturally, one of the first people to hear the news was the person handling those Tuesday ticket runs. “I called and told my grandson I won again.”

At this point, sending him to the store every Tuesday is starting to look like a remarkably successful family business model. Two $50,000 prizes in one year certainly make a convincing argument that timing plays a big role in winning.

The Maryland Lottery’s Pick 5 game asks players to select five digits, with prizes depending on the wager and play type. In this case, the Germantown woman’s ticket delivered the game’s kind of notification most people wouldn’t mind receiving twice.

Grandma Isn’t Keeping All the Luck

Her grandson’s contribution won’t go unrewarded. The winner told lottery officials she intends to share some of her latest prize money with her designated lottery ticker buyer.

She also plans to put some of the winnings toward home renovations. Between improving the house and rewarding her designated ticket buyer, her second jackpot already has a few destinations for some significant changes. 

What probably isn’t changing is the Tuesday ritual that helped get her there. At this point, though, forget the lucky numbers. Grandma might want to make sure her grandson is free next Tuesday.

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