Keno Player Almost Tosses Free Pick 5 Ticket Worth $25,000

Retired Sparrows Point resident Timothy Kiel hoped for a Keno win but received a $25,000 Pick 5 win instead.

Try Pick 5 promotion gives him big win

Timothy Kiel just loves Keno. The former home improvement professional, retired now due to disability, has played the game for years and enjoyed many lucky wins. Oddly enough, however, it wasn’t Keno that brought him to Lottery headquarters this week but a game he plays infrequently – Pick 5.

A free Pick 5 ticket awarded through a recent Try Pick 5 Lottery promotion gave the Sparrows Point resident a $25,000 prize.

“When the guy handed me the free Pick 5 ticket, I almost threw it away,” said the 67-year-old. “I thought it was some kind of advertisement.”

That extra slip of paper handed to Timothy on June 2 was, in fact, a free Pick 5 ticket courtesy of a promotion that ended three days later. The promotion randomly awarded a free 50-cent straight Pick 5 ticket to players who purchased any Lottery game other than scratch-offs. It wasn’t until that evening that Timothy realized just how valuable his decision was to keep the supposed “advertisement.”

“I checked the free ticket on my Lottery app that night. I fully expected it to not be a winner.” Sitting there in his living room with his cat purring on his lap, Timothy’s night launched into a direction that he never expected. “I jumped up when I saw the $25,000. My poor cat went flying!”

After checking the Pick 5 results several more times (and checking the cat, who was fine, just a bit out of sorts), the Baltimore County man showed the ticket to his sister. “She thought it was a $250 winner and asked why I was so excited. Then, I pointed out the extra zeros she hadn’t noticed.”

The good folks from Sail Inn at 2118 Lincoln Avenue in Baltimore sold Timothy his lucky-by-association Keno ticket and the free Pick 5 winner that, according to his friends, put a smile on his face that has not faded since that lucky night. Sail Inn management received a $250 bonus from the Lottery for the happy Pick 5 transaction.

Timothy plans to purchase an assortment of vehicles with his winnings, ranging from bicycles to a golf cart.