A routine stop for food turned into a significant moment for Jerry Baker Jr., of Charles County, who ended up winning a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 top prize.
The La Plata construction worker considers himself a casual player, who purchases tickets on average once a week. He enjoys draw games, especially Bonus Match 5, and typically lets the Lottery terminal do the work by selecting his numbers.
Jerry purchased his winning ticket June 13 at the Wawa at 5955 Crain Highway in La Plata. When asked why he frequents the store his answer was simple.
“The have good food,” he said.
After the drawing, he was back at the same location. After making his purchases, he scanned his ticket at the store’s ticket checker. Instead of displaying a prize amount, the screen instructed him to “Go to Lottery.”
Curious, he visited the Maryland Lottery website to compare his numbers with the winning Bonus Match 5 drawing. It was only then that he realized his quick pick ticket matched all of the first five numbers drawn.
Rather than immediately calling someone to share the exciting news, Jerry kept it to himself for a couple of days before telling his family. He first broke the news to his parents and later shared it with his sister. Everyone was thrilled by his good fortune, and his sister was so inspired that she purchased her own Lottery ticket in hopes of following his winning footsteps.
Jerry claimed his prize on June 26 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. He plans to use his winnings to pay bills.
Wawa receives a $500 bonus equal to 1% of the prize amount.
