“Lucky Papa” is $100,000 richer after a weekend scratch-off purchase. |
“Lucky Papa” claims $100,000 top prize on Big Money Maker ticket
A Saturday trip to the supermarket to pick up some corn slaw put “Lucky Papa” of Prince George’s County on the path to a $100,000 top-prize scratch-off win.
The father of two and grandfather of four finished his grocery errand and decided to swing by nearby Accokeek Liquors in Accokeek to buy Lottery scratch-offs. The federal government motor vehicle operator is a loyal player and enjoys passing the time playing instant tickets. On Saturday, he bought six games, including three Big Money Maker instant tickets, before heading home.
“Lucky Papa” and his son were together in the family room and his wife was in another part of the house when the 61-year-old started playing his games. He had no luck except for one of the $10 Big Money Maker games. At first, “Lucky Papa” thought his prize was $10.
“I pushed it to the side and said, ‘At least I got my $10 back.’” Then, “Lucky Papa” took a closer look and realized the prize for matching the game’s winning number of 12 was $100,000. He’s won $1,000 a few times playing Multi-Match and that same amount on several scratch-offs, but nothing the size of this top prize!
The happy winner called his wife’s cell phone, saying, “Hey, what can you do with $100,000?” she recalled. “He had our son on the phone in FaceTime trying to get my reaction.” She immediately joined them and looked at the scratch-off closely, reading its directions on both sides of the instant ticket. “I was like, ‘It looks real!’” she said.
“Lucky Papa,” who recalls that he simply felt numb with shock after his big win, hid the instant ticket in a closet on a shelf. “He couldn’t sleep or anything last night,” said his wife, who is a government worker in Virginia. They claimed the prize on Sept. 23 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. The happy winner plans to pay off bills with the prize and put the rest in the bank.
His lucky Lottery retailer also has reason to celebrate. For selling a $100,000 top-prize-winning scratch-off, Accokeek Liquors located at 15789 Livingston Road in Accokeek earns a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery. Stop by and try your luck with the Big Money Maker game, which still has seven unclaimed $100,000 top prizes along with 29 $10,000 prizes.