Diego Caceres of Riverdale, left, and his brother Domingo are pondering overseas trips to visit relatives and attend soccer games with Diego’s $100,000 scratch-off winnings. |
Lucky-day note prompts Riverdale man’s Power 8s game purchase
The fortune cookie was right.
Diego Caceres of Riverdale and his brother, Domingo, enjoyed lunch Feb. 16 at a Chinese buffet where the message in Diego’s fortune cookie reported it was his lucky day. A short time later, the siblings went to 7-Eleven #11647 in Riverdale. Diego got a soda and then, remembering the fortune cookie message, borrowed cash from his brother so he could add a $10 Power 8s scratch-off to his purchase. That scratch-off gave Diego a $100,000 top prize!
“I have to credit my brother. He loaned me the money,” Diego said, adding that Domingo will share in the big win.
Buying a scratch-off was unusual for Diego. He has bought only one other Maryland Lottery instant ticket and it failed to give him a win. The Prince George’s County resident picked the Power 8s game partly because he considers 8 a lucky number and partly because it is the number of his favorite soccer player. Midfielder Ricardo Kaká’s jersey number was 8 when he played for São Paulo, Brazil and when he played for Real Madrid, Spain, Diego said.
The 25-year-old winner works as driver for a firm that shuttles construction workers from their homes to job sites and back. On the weekends, he and his brother also work in construction. Their plans for the prize will involve family and the brothers’ shared love of soccer. They may visit relatives in Argentina, Guatemala and Italy and add Spain to their journey. They also may spend some of the prize on tickets to soccer games in Milan and Madrid.
Diego anticipates no difficulties traveling because he is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He can also speak a little French. “We’ll live a little. We are young!” the lucky winner proclaimed.
Also a winner is the lucky 7-Eleven. For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off in the game, the Prince George’s County store located at 5415 Kenilworth Avenue earns a bonus of $1,000 from the Lottery. The bonus is equal to 1 percent of the prize.