BALTIMORE, Md. – The Maryland Lottery has awarded a $40,000 prize in the $2 Million VaxCash Promotion to Charles County resident Tabatha Duckett, who visited Lottery Headquarters on June 8 to claim her prize.
Duckett, the winner in the June 6 drawing, explained that after her initial surprise she was happy to have won a prize just for getting her COVID-19 vaccine. The 54-year-old school custodian said she was unaware of the Vax Cash Promotion until she received a phone call from the Maryland Department of Health while cleaning the administrative offices at La Plata High School.
“I don’t even play the Lottery, so this was a huge surprise,” said Duckett.
But the $40,000 incentive wasn’t the reason Duckett signed up to get her COVID-19 vaccination back in March. Throughout the pandemic she and her fellow custodians have kept the school and administrative offices functioning. With the return to in-person education, the school is now bustling with activity.
“Throughout it all we were sanitizing areas, and taking care of the folks that would be in the school, so the virus was always on our minds,” said Duckett.
Those fears hit even closer to home when her husband contracted COVID-19 earlier this year and rode out severe symptoms at home.
“I didn’t want to get sick, and I wanted to protect my grandkids, my mother and my sisters too,” Duckett said, adding that she plans to use a portion of the prize with family.
The VaxCash Promotion, announced by Governor Larry Hogan on May 20, is a collaboration of the Maryland Lottery and the Maryland Department of Health, aimed at incentivizing Marylanders who have not yet received their COVID-19 vaccinations while rewarding those who have. All Maryland residents 18 and older who have received a COVID-19 shot at a non-Federal facility in Maryland at any time are automatically entered into daily drawings being held from May 25 through July 4.
Each day through July 3, one winner will receive a $40,000 prize, and the promotion culminates on the Fourth of July when one winner will receive a $400,000 prize.
Since its inception in 1973, Maryland Lottery and Gaming has awarded more than $28.2 billion in prizes to Lottery players and more than $17.3 billion in Lottery revenue to the State of Maryland. One of Maryland’s largest revenue sources, the Lottery supports important state programs and services including education, public safety and health, human resources and the environment. For more information, go to mdlottery.com. Please remember to play responsibly and within your budget. For confidential help or information about gambling problems, visit mdgamblinghelp.org or call 1-800-426-2537.