Melvin Posas Cruz of Annapolis, left, joined by his father-in-law Raul Aguilar, claimed one of the many $20,200 top prizes in the 2020 Cash scratch-off game the day before Thanksgiving. |
Player claims a $20,200 top prize
The day before Thanksgiving was a big day for a 35-year-old Annapolis man. He will not soon forget Nov. 27, 2019 because he won $20,200 playing the Maryland Lottery’s new 2020 Cash scratch-off.
Melvin Posas Cruz was running errands for the holiday last Wednesday when he stopped at Seven Summers Liquor in Upper Marlboro. While there, the Anne Arundel County resident decided to purchase a couple of scratch-offs. He first chose a $20 2020 Cash instant ticket.
“I like the newer games and I picked it because of the New Year theme,” he said.
Melvin scratched off the 2020 Cash instant ticket, which was a non-winner, and then purchased a second one to scratch off in the store. To his surprise, the second 2020 Cash instant ticket gave him one of the game’s more than 200 $20,200 top prizes.
“It was very exciting,” said Melvin, the married father of two small children. “I still took it to the cashier to confirm the win.”
The happy player went straight home to tell his wife, kids and father-in-law the good news and to lock the lucky scratch-off in a safe. The Anne Arundel County Public Schools employee told Lottery officials that his family questioned his Lottery luck until he showed them the winning scratch-off.
“It was so unbelievable,” said his father-in-law Raul Aguilar, who accompanied Melvin to claim the prize. Melvin plans to use the winnings to pay off some bills and buy holiday gifts.
Seven Summers Liquor is also a winner. For selling a top-prize-winning instant ticket, the store located at 18811 Central Avenue will receive a $202 bonus – equal to 1 percent of the prize. The 2020 Cash game is still packed with plenty of prizes. There are 203 unclaimed top prizes of $20,200, and thousands of additional prizes ranging from $20 to $2,020.