Sometimes change is good, and for one lucky winner a key change led to a top prize win. A Baltimore City player won the first top prize on the new $50,000 Diamonds scratch-off ticket after changing his routine on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, and going to different spot to buy his tickets.
Early that morning, the 73-year-old man was heading to one of his favorite Maryland Lottery retailers to play one of his favorite games, Bonus Match 5. It was unusually early, and the player had forgotten his usual spot did not open until 10 a.m. Confronted by a dark door, he walked down the street a few blocks to a store he knew would be open.
As he approached the counter to buy a Bonus Match 5 ticket, something told him another change was in order. Rather than playing Bonus Match 5, he instead bought four scratch-off tickets, including one for the new $50,000 Diamonds game. Asked about the particular purchase, he said he had never seen the game before and wanted to test his luck.
After purchasing the ticket, he went home to scratch it. While scratching, he noticed the Diamond logo on one ticket and saw that it also said said “AUTOWIN.” This signifies a winning ticket, but a question remained: “How much?”
The scratching continued to reveal one zero, after another, after another. It turned out to be the top $50,000 prize for that particular ticket.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said the lucky winner. “I said to myself, ‘There’s no way this is real’. Then I pulled my phone out to scan the ticket to make sure that it was the real deal.”
The lucky winner could barely wait to claim his prize. He promptly signed the back of the winning ticket, took a picture of it, and waited patiently for Monday morning to arrive. When it did, he went to Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore and told his tale of transitions.
The lucky player plans to pay off some bills with his windfall and save the rest for future endeavors. Joining in on the win is the retailer where he made the fortuitous purchase, Khusi Grocery at 3001 East Monument Street in Baltimore City. For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off ticket, the retailer secures a bonus equal to 1 percent of the prize, or $500 in this case.