Cascade minor claims top-prize win on $100,000 Extreme Cash game
Reasons to celebrate in the midst of a pandemic can be as simple as pizza night, a small family gathering (with social distancing) or finding a winning Maryland Lottery scratch-off.
A combination of all three had a Cascade man howling outside and shimmying on the floor late last week. The miner, who is calling himself “Earthquake” for Lottery publicity, realized he had just won a $100,000 top-prize on a $30 scratch-off he purchased while running errands.
The 34-year-old said Lottery luck arrived while he and his family were preparing for their gathering. As he made his way across town picking up pizzas and party cups, “Earthquake” used the cash from a small Lottery win to try his luck on a $100,000 Extreme Cash scratch-off. His extremely fortunate purchase took place at Lottery retailer GT’s Handimart in Cascade.
When he arrived home, “Earthquake” drew a crowd of family spectators with his stack of pizzas and the scratch-off. The happy father scratched the instant ticket’s prize barcode first and asked his brother to check the instant ticket for a win using the Maryland Lottery mobile app. When the smartphone displayed a $100,000 prize, “Earthquake” scratched off the rest of the ticket to confirm the win. When he did, “Earthquake” shook for a bit before letting go a shock wave of celebration.
“I guess I blacked out from the shock of it, because the next thing I knew, my family was telling me to get up off of the floor,” said the Washington County resident. When he realized that the scratch-off he held was really worth $100,000, the excited player burst outside and let out a shout of celebration.
“I was hooting and hollering outside the house and when I ran back in, I got on the floor and started hugging the ticket,” he recalled.
The lucky winner said the prize will allow him to purchase a new ring for his wife, spend a bit on his kids and put a healthy portion of the windfall into savings.
Also celebrating the winning sale is GT’s Handimart. For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off worth $100,000, the convenience store located at 25313 Military Road in Cascade will receive a $1,000 retailer bonus from the Lottery.
The $100,000 Extreme Cash scratch-off is one of a pair of “Extreme” scratch-offs that launched in September. A $10 $10,000 Extreme Green scratch-off offers 86 $10,000 top prizes. The $100,000 Extreme Green scratch-off features 56 more $100,000 top prizes and thousands of others ranging from $30 to $5,000.