When David Nickler contemplated buying a Powerball ticket last week he assumed, as anyone would, that the biggest challenge he would face would be matching the winning numbers correctly. He was wrong. It turns out that matching four white balls plus the Powerball was a much easier task than convincing his family that he’d actually done it.
A fan of the Lottery’s large jackpot games, the Elkton electrician buys Mega Millions and Powerball tickets for each drawing. His ordinary routine had extraordinary results as he took home a third-tier $10,000 Powerball win.
He discovered his good fortune on Thursday morning when he checked his numbers online at mdlottery.com. “Everyone else in the house was still asleep,” said David. “I quietly yelled to myself.” When the rest of the family did wake up, David shared the news, without much satisfaction.
“I didn’t believe him,” said his wife Sherry, who accompanied David to Lottery Headquarters. The happy twosome said that the past week has been an exciting one as they anticipated claiming their prize. David will share some of his winnings with his son who is getting married and also intends to pay bills. The winning ticket was purchased at Vlamis Liquors, located at 801 Bridge St. in Elkton.
The Maryland Lottery has awarded more than $16.6 billion in prizes since its inception in 1973. One of the largest sources of revenue for the State, the Lottery supports important programs that include education, public safety and health, economic development and the environment. Total contributions have exceeded $11.2 billion since the agency’s founding. For more information, go to mdlottery.com.