 His red-hot luck with the number 7 brought a $7,777 scratch-off win to retired Baltimore County Fire Department Capt. Steven Sowa of Essex. |
Essex retiree received winning scratch-off in birthday wreath
Steven Sowa of Essex and his lucky number 7 go way, way back.
The retired Baltimore County Fire Department captain married his sweetheart in 1972 and started working at the fire department in 1977, where he enjoyed a 32-year career. He worked at Station No. 7, which houses engines 7 and 71. So, when his daughter presented him with a birthday wreath she’d created using Maryland Lottery scratch-offs, Steven thought of his lucky number when he spotted a White Ice 7s scratch-off. He wasn’t disappointed – his lucky number came through again with a $7,777 prize on the $2 ticket.
“I saw 7s all the way down the column,” he said while claiming his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. “Those 7s came around, baby!”
His wife at his side, the grandfather of two happily related the story of his December birthday gift that just keeps on giving. “There were easily a dozen scratch-offs on the wreath,” he said. “I finished them all last night.”
The father of two adult daughters and two granddaughters only had to scratch two of the instant tickets to find his lucky White Ice 7s. “I can’t believe it!” said his wife.
An occasional scratch-off player, the 65-year-old plays instant tickets “when I feel lucky,” he said. He plans to spend his prize on an extended-family summer vacation at Ocean City so his granddaughters can enjoy time at the beach like his daughters did year after year when they were growing up.