Cybersecurity White-Hat Hacker Dons Lucky Lottery Hat With $100,000 Win

This Cockeysville scratch-off fan donned the Lottery’s lucky four-clovers hat to celebrate his recent $100,000 win.

Cockeysville player claims top prize on $1,000 Loaded scratch-off

Payday is always Maryland Lottery play day for a Baltimore County man, whose  routine visit to the same Lottery retailer recently became a day to remember. The 37-year-old won a $100,000 top prize on a $1,000 Loaded scratch-off.

The cybersecurity professional works as a white-hat hacker to protect his company from security breaches. The Cockeysville man, who nicknamed himself “Ethical Hacker” for Lottery publicity purposes, has played the $1,000 Loaded scratch-off in the past. Although he does research the remaining prizes on $10 scratch-offs to guide his selections, he said of his win: “It was just pure, random luck.”

He generally takes $20 to the same Wawa in Cockeysville to buy two $10 scratch-offs. On the day $100,000 came his way, “Ethical Hacker” approached the store’s Lottery vending machine and spotted the $1,000 Loaded game and felt lucky. “It was glaring at me,” he said.

“Ethical Hacker” bought that $1,000 Loaded game and another scratch-off and returned to his car, where his dad was waiting. “Ethical Hacker” scratched part of the $1,000 Loaded game, realized he matched a winning number, then scratched some more to reveal the $100,000 prize. Startled, he scanned the instant ticket using the Lottery mobile app to confirm his win before saying anything to his dad.

Speaking Sept. 29 while claiming his prize, he said he plans to use the prize to pay off debts and save for a down payment on a house. This is his largest Lottery prize but not his first big one. “Ethical Hacker” won $10,000 last summer playing a $10 Red Hot Riche$ scratch-off.

His Lottery retailer, Wawa #8506, also shares in the fun. The Baltimore County business located at 10111 York Road in Cockeysville will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize winning scratch-off of $100,000 or more.

Three more $100,000 top prizes remain in the game, which went on sale in May with a family of Loaded games. Players can also search for five unclaimed $20,000 winning scratch-offs and 11 more with $10,000 prizes.