He doesn’t play often, a truck driver said Oct. 9 when he visited Lottery headquarters to claim a hefty Pick 5 prize, but when he does, it’s Pick 5. He sure did pick the right game, and he sure did time his purchase well. The $50,000 prize he claimed is all the evidence needed.
“When I feel like playing, I get a Pick 5 ticket,” the District resident said. “It works well with birthdays.”
And birthdays are the key, it seems, as they serve as inspiration for the numbers he plays. The top-prize winner says he always uses combinations taken from the birthdates of his family members. He’ll use the month from one person, the day from another relative and the year from a third.
“I was in shock when I saw the numbers on the website that night. I recognized them right away but had to check my tickets to be sure that I’d played that specific number,” he said. Checking confirmed the win, but it was late enough that he decided not to wake his wife with the good news.
Don’t worry, though. He and his wife celebrated over breakfast. He said, “Everything tasted a little better than it usually does.”
The ticket was purchased from Tucker’s Plaza Liquors at 9205 Marlboro Pike. The Prince George’s County business received a $500 bonus for selling the top-prize winner.
