A Silver Spring man received the surprise of a lifetime after discovering he had won $1 million from the Maryland Lottery’s Gold Rush 777 scratch-off. The lucky winner, who chose to remain anonymous, recently visited Maryland Lottery headquarters accompanied by his brother to share his story.
A self-described proud American citizen, originally from Ethiopia, has been playing the Lottery since 2017. He first became intrigued by the idea of potentially winning money and learned how the games worked from friends and others familiar with the lottery system, something that was entirely foreign to him before moving to the United States.
“It was all new to me,” he said. “But thankfully I took the time to learn.”
That patience and curiosity finally paid off. The winning ticket was purchased on a whim during a work break from a self-service vending machine. After scratching the $20 Gold Rush 777 instant ticket and scanning it, the stunned winner rushed back to his office, struggling to focus for the rest of the day as he anxiously waited to get home and share the exciting news.
When he arrived home, he told his wife. The couple, who recently closed on a new home, celebrated the life-changing moment together.
“We just looked at each other and smiled. It was a perfectly timed blessing,” he shared.
The winner says he plans to use a portion of his prize to make minor updates to their new home and will invest the remainder to help secure their future.
“I never dreamed I’d win the lottery,” he said. “These things don’t happen to me. But I’m so thankful.”
The winning ticket was sold at Hillandale Beer & Wine at 10117 New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring. The retailer will receive a $1,000 bonus for selling a top-prize winning ticket.
The Gold Rush 777 instant ticket has just one $1 million top-prize remaining. The game went on sale in May 2024 and still has two $50,000 prizes, 42 prizes of $10,000 and hundreds of thousands of prizes between $20 and $5,000 remaining.
