Two conditions must exist for a Sandy Spring man to purchase a lottery ticket, he told Maryland Lottery officials. One, he’s got to be thirsty and, two, the jackpots must be big.
Both conditions were in place during a Dec. 5 drive to work that led to his stop at 7-Eleven #26997 in Ashton. The father of two chose Powerball numbers that turned into a $50,000 prize that night.
The construction worker didn’t know a thing about his big win until last week. “I always get a ticket when I stop for coffee,” the 61-year-old reported. “And, I always check my tickets toward the end of the month, assuming I’d bought any. I was about to leave with my family for a holiday trip and I had two tickets, so I asked the cashier to check them.” He was in for the shock of his life.
“When she said $50,000, I asked her to repeat what she’d just told me,” the Montgomery County man said. “I was sure that she meant $50, or maybe $500, but she said it again — $50,000! I could tell by her eyes that she wasn’t joking.”
The Powerball winner broke the news to his family at the airport, which got their trip off to a rousing start. Paying off a recently purchased car is task #1 on the family’s to-do list following the $50,000 win.
No one hit the Powerball jackpot in Saturday’s drawing and it rolled to $82 million for the Jan. 9 drawing. Try your luck at your favorite Lottery retailer or our winner’s 7-Eleven, which is located at 29 Olney Sandy Spring Road in Montgomery County.