It was late November when a Lottery player from Montgomery County was engaged in a favorite activity: playing Lottery games. Among the purchases to be checked was a $5 FAST PLAY Cash Combination progressive jackpot ticket, which turned out to be a $111,971 winner.
The Bethesda resident, who plays all Lottery games aside from Racetrax, keeps an eye on the progressive jackpot games and knew Cash Combination had amassed a solid jackpot. A quick ticket purchase and scan resulted in confusion: the winner thought the ticket was a dud.
“It was too many words on the scanner and I actually balled up the ticket a little bit,” the winner said Dec. 8 after claiming the prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. “It usually says, ‘see retailer,’ but it didn’t say that.”
But after scanning the ticket a few more times, the player thought it best to show the cashier, who quickly confirmed it was a $111,971 jackpot win.
“I then took a closer look at the ticket and saw I matched the right combination and beneath it said, ‘progressive jackpot’,” the winner said.
Nervousness set in and the player went home to stash the valuable slip of paper in a safe place. The player plans to use the proceeds to become debt free.
The $111,971 winning FAST PLAY game was bought at Maple Beer and Wine at 8125 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. For selling the winning ticket, the Lottery retailer will receive a $1,000 bonus.
