A casual Lottery player from the rural northern part of St. Mary’s County has plenty of time to wait for inspiration as he commutes more than 70 miles one way to work, and that’s how he ended up winning $200,000 playing Pick 5.
“I was going to work and stopped at a red light in Charlotte Hall and I noticed the tag on a truck, 19363,” he said Aug. 15 after claiming his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.
He bought that combination, four $1 straight bets and four $1 boxed bets for the Aug. 6 evening drawing and the Aug. 7 midday.
“And the rest is history,” the winner said. He checked the numbers after the evening drawing. Nothing. But the next day, after the midday, he looked at the winning Pick 5 numbers and thought, “That number looks familiar.”
Seconds later, he realized why.
“I was gasping for air. I was so happy!” he said.
Retirement is already on the calendar for about a year in the future, so he knew exactly what he would be doing with his winnings.
“I’m going to renovate the old house,” he said. It’s his parents’ old place, and the home where he grew up.
He plans to continue playing according to his usual method, which is to wait until a number gets his attention and play it. He says he’s done very well playing that way, but he missed out about a year ago when he was thinking about “the old house” and pondered playing the address. He didn’t follow up, but that combination hit a few days later.
“And it hit straight,” he recalls.
Though no major celebration of the win is in the cards, he did make one pronouncement: “Oh, I’m going to get a crab cake!”
Also having reason to celebrate is Third Base at 28085 Point Lookout Road in Loveville, which receives a $2,000 bonus.
