A fictional novel written by his best friend inspired a Montgomery County man to buy a $1,000,000 Blowout scratch-off, which led to a $50,000 win during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Originally, when I saw the ticket and saw that I won, I immediately said, ‘This must be a mistake,’ ” recalled the Chevy Chase resident. “I gasped, thinking there was no way I could possibly win that much!”
The book that inspired his purchase, “Sunrise at the American Market,” tells the tale of strangers gathering for coffee every morning at a convenience store. What the fictional characters thought would lead to just small talk evolved into lifelong friendships. In addition to small talk and coffee, the strangers also enjoyed playing scratch-offs. Inspired by the novel, the lucky winner nicknamed “Alex” and his friends started going to a local convenience store every morning to enjoy a cup of joe and scratch-offs.
That lucky day, as “Alex” scratched off the $1,000,000 Blowout instant ticket, he noticed something different — a diamond-shaped logo. Only then did he realize his lucky day had arrived. He beat his previous top prize by $49,992!
With the holidays just around the corner, “Alex” plans to use his winnings to help his children and will save the rest of his prize for the future.
Plenty of big prizes remain in the $20 game. Still unclaimed are six $1 million top prizes, a dozen $50,000 prizes and 43 $10,000 prizes.
Alex’ lucky morning stop for coffee and fellowship was the Auburn Exxon located at 7975 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda.