 U.S. Air Force veteran Harold Bond and his wife, Mary, said they plan to put their $20,000 Mega Millions prize into savings. |
Owings Mills resident takes home $20,000
Persistence has paid off for Harold Bond. The 84-year-old Owings Mills resident has played the same set of numbers in the Mega Millions game for years, but never managed to win. His luck changed when he bought a Mega Millions Megaplier ticket on April Fools’ Day that earned him a $20,000 prize in the April 7 drawing.
Harold, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, bought his winning ticket at the Food Lion #2535 at 9251 Lakeside Blvd. in Owings Mills. And, even though his favorite set of numbers had never yielded a prize, he had no intention of changing them.
“I’ve played lots of times,” Harold said. “Those are my numbers, win, lose or draw.”
Harold and his wife Mary, who will celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary in July, said they didn’t watch the Mega Millions drawing. When Harold returned to the grocery store to check the status of the ticket, the message on the ticket checker was confusing. The Baltimore County resident thought he held a winning ticket, but for how much? His wife and one of their three adult children checked the winning numbers on the Maryland Lottery website and sent him to a nearby retailer to confirm the size of his prize.
The Mega Millions winning numbers for April 7 were 5-15-22-26-59 and the Mega Ball was 6 with a four times Megaplier. Harold nearly won the $30 million jackpot, as he matched four of the five balls and the Mega Ball. Nonetheless, the grandfather of two and great-grandfather of one was all smiles as he claimed his prize at Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore.
“It’s a nice prize … I could have used the other one, though,” he said with a laugh, adding that he plans to put the money into savings.