Player uses dates associated with his mom, credits her for the score
When he plays Pick 5, said the Prince George’s County resident, he uses a set of numbers associated with his mom’s birth and death so he wasn’t surprised to see that others won big prizes using the same digits in the March 28 evening drawing. However, he was the only person to win $300,000 that night!
“She always tried to look out for everyone,” the Upper Marlboro winner said on April 6 when he claimed his windfall at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.
The Lottery fan said he often buys several Pick 5 tickets, sometimes as much as $10 worth, and always uses numbers that are significant to his family. Playing his combination of 85420 for six $1 straight bets, therefore, was not out of the ordinary. He bought the tickets at Dash In #15521 in Upper Marlboro and checked them after the drawing.
“I was blown away,” he said. “I broke loose, man. I cried. It was least expected, but needed most.”
Two other people won at the $50,000 level on $1 straight bet tickets that night and a third person scored $25,000 on a 50-cent straight bet ticket.
“I am grateful for this. It was unexpected,” the happy dad said. The extra money will allow the winner and his relatives to prevent a foreclosure on a family member’s home. In addition, he and his wife will use some of the funds to fly to Florida for their daughter’s upcoming college graduation and celebrate in style.
The other two players with $50,000-winning tickets have claimed their prizes. The tickets were purchased at Glenmont Sunoco, 12321 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring and Odenton Exxon at 1318 Annapolis Road in Odenton. The $25,000 winning ticket sold at Quick Save Mart at 524 Defense Highway in Annapolis has not been claimed yet.
His lucky Lottery retailer, located at 15501 Marlboro Pike in Prince George’s County, will receive a bonus of $3,000 from the Lottery, or $500 per ticket, for selling six $50,000-winning tickets.
