“KC Royals” from Frederick waited almost a year to claim his $50,000 prize on the $1,000,000 Platinum Play ticket. |
Kansas City Royals fan planning vacation after scratch-off win
Nearly a year after discovering the biggest Lottery win of his life, a Frederick resident finally claimed his $50,000 prize on the $1,000,000 Platinum Play ticket.
The winner, who dubbed himself “KC Royals” after his favorite baseball team, said there was no particular reason that he waited so long to visit Lottery headquarters with his ticket. He kept it in a special hiding place, but was careful not to reveal too much information about it.
“I can’t tell you where it was,” he said with a smile. “But I did check it every day to make sure it was still there.”
The 44-year-old purchased the ticket at Leeds Liquors located at 910 Leeds Avenue in Baltimore shortly after the $20 game launched last August.
“I bought it because I saw that it was new,” he said. “When I scratch off tickets, I usually just scratch the numbers and don’t look at the prizes. When I saw I matched so many numbers, I called a buddy of mine and I started going through the prize amounts and he was adding them up as I went. It was shocking.”
The lucky winner said he and his wife will enjoy spending their prize on a vacation. They also will use some of the money to pay bills. The $50,000 prize is by far the largest he’s ever won. His previous best was a $1,500 prize years ago on Lotto, the game that was the precursor to Multi-Match.
The $1,000,000 Platinum Play ticket launched in August 2016, and three of its $1 million top prizes are still unclaimed. There are also two more unclaimed $50,000 prizes, 17 $10,000 prizes, and thousands of additional prizes ranging from $20 to $5,000.