A Montgomery County man visited lottery headquarters on Aug. 20 to claim a Powerball prize, saying he’d be happy to “settle” for the $50,000 prize he won on in the drawing four days earlier. The “once-in-a-while” player bought his ticket when he noticed that the jackpot had climbed to over $600 million.
“I’m happy with this,” he said of the third-tier prize. “But I plan to be back for the jackpot soon.”
The auto industry worker stopped for gas at the 7-Eleven at 6848 Olney – Laytonsville Road in Gaithersburg on Saturday, Aug. 16. That’s when he realized the heights to which Powerball’s jackpot had risen (more than half a billion dollars).
“I must not have been paying attention recently,” he said. “Imagine how your life can change with that kind of win.”
Arriving home, he placed the ticket on a table and didn’t think about it again for almost two days, even though the drawing was that evening.
“I didn’t check the results until Monday night. When I saw the $50,000 I was amazed. The most I had ever won over the years was $20.”
The Gaithersburg resident will use his winnings to upgrade a trip his family will be taking soon. The Powerball jackpot sits at $700 million for the Aug. 23 drawing.
