Two pals pair up to pursue Lottery luck
A Halloween purchase of about $30 worth of Powerball tickets didn’t net two jackpot chasers the big prize they were seeking but it did give them a $50,000 win.
A retired Hanover man, who claimed their prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, said he and his friend often joined Powerball and Mega Millions office pools whenever the jackpots grew large. Now that he is retired from a transportation company, the winner said he and his friend play the games together from time to time and restrict the size of their total purchases to around $30.
On Oct. 31, the Powerball jackpot had risen to an estimated $1 billion with an estimated cash value of $497.3 million. The friends bought one of Maryland’s two $50,000-winning tickets in the Halloween-night drawing. Nationally, there were 13 $1 million winners and 157 $50,000 winners on that Monday night.
The father of three and grandfather of three said he typically does not watch the drawings when he plays the jackpot games on his own. “I don’t check it until a couple of months later,” he said. “I like the tickets to surprise me.”
But because he bought the Oct. 31 batch of Powerball tickets with his friend, the lucky player checked the drawing results the next day. “I said, ‘Wow!’” the winner recalled when he saw the size of the prize. He then shared the great news with his friend.
The winner said he plans to enjoy his half of the prize by traveling with his wife. He reported that his friend may use the funds to retire. He bought their winning $2 quick-pick ticket at Giant #347 located at 10480 Campus Way in Upper Marlboro.
Both national jackpots are on the rise again, with Mega Millions reaching an estimated $465 million for the drawing tonight (Dec. 20) and Powerball climbing to an estimated $170 million for the Wednesday, Dec. 21 drawing. Try your luck! The estimated cash value of the jackpots is $250.4 million for Mega Millions and $91.5 million for Powerball.
