It only took four days for a Silver Spring couple to claim their Mega Millions second-tier prize. The pair brought the winning ticket to Lottery headquarters on Tuesday ready to walk away with their $250,000 prize from last Friday’s Mega Millions drawing.
The couple has been playing the Lottery the same way for years. The 28-year-old wife always gives her husband money and asks him to pick up their Lottery tickets for the week. Then, once the drawings occur, they return to the store to check their tickets.
After scanning this ticket several times, they thought that the store’s scanner was broken. Every time they scanned the ticket a message appears instructing them to take their ticket to Lottery headquarters. “I had to ask the clerk if his machine was broken,” said the lucky man. “It just kept showing the same message.”
Perplexed, the store clerk took the ticket and scanned it himself. Then, to the couple surprise, the clerk informed the couple of their $250,000 windfall. They were still skeptical and looked up the winning numbers. Sure enough, they matched five numbers, only missing the Mega Ball.
The couple is planning a vacation to the Dominican Republic to celebrate their win. They also plan on paying off bills and starting an additional college fund for their 9-year-old son.
The lucky ticket was purchased from Columbia Road Exxon located at 12601 Old Columbia Pike in Silver Spring.