Retail worker quickly finds parking spot and $10,000 scratch-off prize
A retail worker from Catonsville knew Saturday was his lucky day when he arrived at The Mall in Columbia and found a parking spot with no trouble at all.
Not long after that, he was holding a winning Maryland Lottery scratch-off worth $10,000 that he purchased at Short Stop News, which is located in the mall adjacent to food court. What a great day!
“I got to the mall around 12:30, and with Christmas coming up, the parking lot was full,” he said. “There were people circling around trying to find parking, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a spot right away. So, it was my lucky day.”
After running some errands in the mall, he purchased a couple of $5 scratch-offs at Short Stop News. He didn’t win anything on those instant tickets and decided to try a few of The Big $10 Ticket.
“On the third or fourth one, I got $1,000 on the first line,” he said. “Then, I saw $50 and another $50 and $1,000 on the second line.”
The 64-year-old added up all of the prize amounts on the scratch-off, and, after showing it to the store clerk, realized he’d won $10,000.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “You hear about people winning and see it on TV, but to see it happen to you, the adrenaline rush really started. The lady that worked there gave me a hug. She was just happy it happened in her store.”
The lucky winner’s largest previous Lottery prize was $1,200 on a game of Keno several years ago.
“You can’t force the luck to happen – when it’s gonna happen, it’ll happen,” he said. The happy Lottery player plans to use his prize money to pay bills.
The Big $10 Ticket launched in November, and seven of its $100,000 top prizes are still unclaimed, along with 31 more $10,000 prizes and thousands of other prizes ranging from $10 to $1,000.