Mr. and Mrs. Thankful from Anne Arundel County won a $25,000 Pick 5 prize, after using numbers suggested by a friend.
An excited couple visited Maryland Lottery Headquarters this week to claim a $25,000 Pick 5 prize. It was a month ago that numbers suggested by a friend’s spouse yielded the big win.
Using the name, Mr. and Mrs. Thankful for publicity purposes, the grateful couple shared their story of good fortune as they claimed their prize on Aug. 10. The couple, who enjoy playing Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 games and jackpot games, said some time ago they were with friends for an evening out. As the two couples were chatting about numerous topics, including the Lottery, Mr. Thankful asked his friend’s wife for random numbers to play. She suggested 1-9-2-4-3.
“Ever since that day, I’ve been playing that number straight and boxed,” he said when claiming the prize. “And, I’ve been pretty lucky with it over the years.”
Indeed, he has, because on July 26, those exact numbers came out straight in the Pick 5 midday drawing. And because, two days earlier, he placed a 50-cent bet for the numbers to come out straight, he won $25,000. The winner said he checks his tickets every day and couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he checked the result of that particular Pick 5 ticket.
“I kept looking and looking at it,” he smiled. “I grabbed my list of numbers to compare and sure enough, I won.”
The lucky winner was extremely happy about his discovery, but did not share the news with Mrs. Thankful until the day he arrived at Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore this week.
“He told me we were going to a medical appointment,” said Mrs. Thankful. “He had some nerve not telling me until we were pulling into the Lottery’s parking lot.”
The thankful couple said the winnings will go into savings after paying for car repairs and a few bills.
The winning $25,000 Pick 5 ticket was purchased at Jackie’s Liquors located at 3392 Laurel Fort Meade Road in Laurel. For selling the top-prize winner, the Anne Arundel County business receives a $250 bonus from the Lottery.
