John Gephardt and Debbi Golamb are all smiles over his $50,000 Powerball prize. |
Baltimore County resident wins in May 24 drawing
A midweek $50,000 Powerball win gave John Gephardt of Baltimore plenty to smile about as the retiree claimed his prize at Maryland Lottery headquarters.
The 76-year-old is not only a loyal jackpot player, but also follows a routine when buying his jackpot games. He usually visits the same Maryland Lottery retailer, which is Wise Avenue BP in Baltimore. The Baltimore County resident stopped at the gas station the day before his lucky May 24 drawing and invested $2 in a ticket.
“I am a faithful player,” John said. “I play Powerball and Mega Millions each week. I play only one game and use the quick-pick method.”
The lucky player matched four of the five numbers in the drawing plus the Power Ball. He was the only Marylander to do so and one of 21 players nationwide to win the $50,000 prize in the drawing. No one hit the jackpot, which rolled to $275 million for the Saturday, May 27 drawing with a cash option of $170.3 million.
John checked his ticket after the drawing and knew he’d won something. The big question was: How much had he won? He asked his friend Debbi Golamb for help.
“It wasn’t until Ms. Golamb informed me I had won more than $100 that I truly believed I had won big,” he said.
He plans to put his winnings into the bank for now. “I will save it until I really need it,” he said. “One thing I will certainly do is continue to be a faithful player in the hopes I will be back here again to collect more winnings!”
Want to visit John’s very lucky Lottery retailer? Wise Avenue BP is located at 7801 Wise Avenue in Baltimore.