Pennsylvania resident Ralph DiGuiseppe III celebrates his $50,000 Maryland scratch-off win.
Pennsylvania resident Ralph DiGuiseppe III is in the real estate business, and his business requires long drives sometimes. Happily for him, a trip back in April took him through Maryland. Add an empty stomach and an Ice scratch-off, and you have all the makings for a $50,000 win.
“I wasn’t too far into Maryland when I decided to stop for food,” Ralph told Lottery officials when claiming the prize on June 12. He enjoys playing the Lottery at home and on the road, he explained, so when he saw the Lottery vending machine at the Maryland House Travel Plaza in Aberdeen, he decided to play. “I’ll pick up a few scratch-offs when I stop in different places. When the pile gets too big, I scratch them.”
A few weeks ago, Ralph’s Lottery ticket collection had grown sufficiently to get his attention. Coincidentally, so too had the grass on his front lawn. “A bunch of my family were visiting so I asked them to scratch the tickets while I mowed the lawn.” Before long, he saw a mob of people emerge from the house. “I couldn’t tell whether they looked worried or excited,” he told us. Once the mower was off and he could hear what they were shouting, however, he realized what was going on.
Ice is a $10 scratch-off game that debuted in April. Four of the ticket’s six $100,000 top prizes are still available, along with five of the $50,000 second-tier prizes. Ralph plans to stop in at the Maryland House whenever work takes him down I-95, and not just when he’s hungry. Look for the Maryland House at Mile Marker 82 in Aberdeen.
