Last-Minute Decision Brings $100,000 Lottery Win in Laurel

He had a $10 Lottery voucher in his pocket and, while stopped at a traffic light, he was thinking about getting a ticket.

“I wasn’t going to stop, but when the light was green, I turned. I guess it was the winning stop,” the Montgomery County man said Feb. 6 when he claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

The winning total: $100,000 that came on the lone $10 scratch-off ticket he purchased on the relatively new game 50X the Cash.

The winner was on his way from work as a truck driver when he pulled into the 7-Eleven at 605 7th Street in Laurel. After he bought the ticket, he went back to his car and scratched it. Initially, he was a bit confused by what he saw.

“I never saw a multiplier before,” he said, “I thought maybe I’d won $500.”

But then he scratched under the 10X spot on the play area of his card.

“Then I saw four zeros!” he said. Under the 10X notation was $10,000, making the total prize $100,000.

Aside from his wife, he hasn’t told anyone about the win. Plans for the money involve some fairly ordinary financial housekeeping, but also some fun.

“We’re going to take a vacation somewhere nice,” the winner said, adding, “Somewhere it’s not snowing!”

The 7-Eleven where he bought the ticket receives a $1,000 bonus.

This win marks the second of nine $100,000 top prizes to have been claimed. The game also has nine remaining $50,000 prizes and tens of thousands of others ranging from $10 to $10,000.