An office worker from Columbia who prides himself on always keeping his cool found that ability challenged last week. It was a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 win that sent him reeling – at least on the inside.
“I play every week and have had plenty of serious wins,” he told Lottery officials April 29 when he claimed the prize at Lottery headquarters. “I thought I knew what finding a big prize would do to me, but I was definitely not ready.”
The latest Marylander to win Bonus Match 5’s top prize explained that his work takes him out on the road sometimes. That’s what put him in Market Lot Liquors in Hagerstown where he crossed paths with his big winner.
“I stopped there when I saw their lottery signs. Put the ticket in my wallet and didn’t think about it again,” he said. Not until a few days later when he was checking tickets at a Lottery retailer, that is.
“I was going through a pile of tickets, something I do every week,” he said. It was pretty routine, the Howard County resident told us, until he scanned “the” ticket.
“I was hoping to see a $15 or maybe even $30.”
When his $50,000 popped up, he was stunned.
“I took a step or two backward before I could get ahold of myself,” he said, adding that he almost let out a whoop but cut if off.
“There were people in there. I wanted to keep my secret to myself.”
Market Lot Liquors at 54 West Church Street in Hagerstown receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize-winning Bonus Match 5 ticket.
