Claims $675,000 Multi-Match Jackpot from December
For more than a month, a retired physical therapist from Ellicott City drove around with $675,000 next to him in his car. Sound risky? This Maryland Lottery winner was completely unaware that the console between the seats held a Multi-Match ticket, let alone a jackpot-winning ticket.
The 71-year-old bought the ticket on a whim just in time for the Dec. 19 drawing.
“I had stopped for gas and, when I was paying, I saw the Lottery machine,” he told Lottery officials. “I decided to get a Multi-Match ticket. I got back in the car, stuck the ticket in the console between the seats and forgot about it.”
How many cups of coffee were held over that ticket in the next four or five weeks? How many notes were written on scraps of paper grabbed from that console? He’d rather not think about it! In fact, it wasn’t until he visited that same gas station and experienced that same impulsive feeling of Lottery luck that he remembered the month-old ticket.
“I asked the cashier to check it and she told me it was too big for her to cash,” said the father of two adult children. “I called a friend and she looked up the winning numbers. It was then that I realized that the ticket was worth $675,000.”
Being a quiet fellow, his reaction was sedate, the man said. The party started when his wife learned of his good fortune.
His plans for the Multi-Match prize money start and end with helping family and friends. “My wife may figure out something fun for us to do, but until then we’ll share it.” Lottery luck struck him at the 7-Eleven at 9398 Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City. This jackpot win closed out a lucky year for Maryland players, who enjoyed nine Multi-Match jackpot wins in 2013.