 Pop Pop’s road trip brought him from Florida to Maryland Lottery headquarters to collect a $50,000 scratch-off prize. |
“Pop Pop’s” second road trip includes celebration at Maryland Lottery headquarters
A Florida resident had an excellent reason to make his second drive to Maryland in a span of two weeks. But he kept it a secret from almost everyone, including his 12-year-old grandson, who came along for the ride.
“Pop Pop,” who is a Maryland native, finally divulged the true reason for his return trip when he arrived at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore with his sister and his grandson:
During Pop Pop’s visit to Maryland two weeks earlier, he won $50,000 on a $20 Ultimate Riches scratch-off!
The grandfather of six found Lottery luck on one of the two tickets he purchased Ballenger Creek Pike Exxon, located at 5870 Ballenger Creek Pike in Frederick.
“I tucked them up in my car visor and drove home,” Pop Pop said. “I didn’t even check them until I got home.”
The 61-year-old wasn’t sure if he had truly won a $50,000 prize, so he called his sister in Maryland for help.
“I told him to add up the numbers,” she explained. “He did and I told him to add them up again.”
His $50,000 win confirmed, the happy man made plans to return to Maryland to claim the prize. Along the way, he picked up his grandson in South Carolina.
“I like to drive,” said Pop Pop, who works as a shuttle bus driver for a Florida resort and hasn’t shared news of his good fortune with his employer. In fact, he simply told his boss he had to drive his grandson to Maryland for a family visit.
The winner plans to pay bills with his prize and hopes Lottery luck will strike twice! Pop Pop and his sister have invested in a Mega Millions ticket for Tuesday’s drawing in hopes of winning the $202 million jackpot. The cash option for the July 11 drawing is $123.8 million.
The Ultimate Riches game launched in April and is packed with prizes. All seven of its $1 million top prizes are unclaimed, along with 12 more $50,000 prizes, 54 $10,000 prizes and thousands of others ranging from $20 to $5,000.