FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 02, 2003
ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and Maryland State Lottery Agency Director Buddy Roogow today introduced Baltimore County’s Bernadette “Bernie” Gietka, the $112 million winner of the inter-state Mega Millions lottery game. Gietka beat 135 million to 1 odds to win. State taxes paid on the win equal $8,463,290.91, which will be dedicated to the State’s general fund.
“This could not have happened to a better person,” Governor Ehrlich stated. “I am particularly proud that the winner is a lifelong Marylander who hails from my home county. I wish Bernadette and her family all the best as they celebrate this remarkable occasion.”
Gietka, 54, is a life-long Maryland resident who currently lives in Baldwin. She works as a part-time letter carrier for the United States Post Office where she has worked for twelve years. She previously worked for the Social Security Administration and the Old Montgomery Wards, where she was a keypuncher. Coincidentally, while at Montgomery Wards, she worked in the very same building in which the Lottery is currently headquartered.
“This is a wonderful event for the Maryland lottery,” said Lottery Agency Director Buddy Roogow. “This proves that anyone can win even against tremendous odds of 135 million to one.”
Gietka waited to reveal the winning ticket because she had just asked the Post Office for additional hours and felt obligated to take the additional routes she was given.
The Mega Millions jackpot had risen to $183 million when the winning ticket was sold at Geresbeck’s Bi-Rite on Eastern Avenue in the Essex-Middle River Community in Baltimore County on June 19th. The winning numbers in the drawing were: 1, 2, 3, 12, 37 and the gold Mega Ball number, 35. Gietka chose the cash option for $112,843,878, making it the second largest payout to an individual winner in U.S. Lottery history and the biggest ever in Maryland. After the 25 percent federal withholding, Gietka will receive $76,169,618.17.
In attendance today was Carl Greeley, owner of Geresbeck’s Bi-Rite and Alicia Sanders, who sold Gietka the winning ticket. In Fiscal Year 2002, the State Lottery generated $443 million in revenue. In Fiscal Year 2003, the Lottery is expected to break that record.