Baltimore County Man Feels ‘Blessed’ by Pick 5 Win

Bet $1 straight to claim game’s $50,000 top prize

A retired construction supervisor who plays the Lottery every once in a while sure did pick the right “while” when he bought a Pick 5 ticket last week. The $50,000 prize he won comes courtesy of a spur-of-the-moment decision made when running an errand.

“I get a ticket when I think about it,” the Owings Mills resident told Lottery officials, “if it happens when I’m in a store that sells them, that is.” While he wasn’t in a Lottery retailer when the thought popped in his head on Dec. 23, he was only a block away from one. “I saw the store and turned right in.”

One Stop Liquors & Wine in Reisterstown was the store that caught his eye, and it was they who sold him a $1 straight Pick 5 ticket with numbers he specifically requested. “They don’t really mean anything to me,” he said, referring to the numbers he picked. “They’re just a couple of number pairs that felt right to me plus a lucky number.”

It wasn’t until the following day that our Baltimore County winner realized that those five Pick 5 numbers he’d selected for 10 drawings from Dec. 23-Dec. 28 had put him together with a $50,000 prize. He won in the Dec. 28 midday drawing.

“It was so exciting. I could not believe it at first. Could not believe that it had happened to me.”

Management at the store, which is located at 11700 Reisterstown Road, will receive a $500 Lottery bonus for selling a $50,000-winning Pick 5 ticket.

The winner plans to use his Pick 5 prize to help family members who are dealing with significant medical bills. “This is such a blessing for my family,” he said, adding that the shock of the big win has worn off. “It’s gratitude that I feel now. Just gratitude.”