A Laurel man is already enjoying 2026 after becoming a $100,000 winner on the Maryland Lottery’s Red 5’s Doubler scratch-off.
“Let’s start off the New Year right,” he said with a smile Jan. 5 after claiming his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.
After purchasing the ticket, he used a strategy of scratching off all the numbers, but not the prize amounts, to see if he has any winning matches. He had one such match, on 52, so he scratched the prize amount to reveal the top prize of $100,000 in a single square.
“I was in shock. I went home and told my parents,” the Prince George’s County resident said.
It was great news for his parents because the winner plans to use his winnings to buy them a house. The construction worker said he plans to put anything left in his savings account.
The winning ticket was sold at the 24/7 Convenience Store at 7707 Old Sandy Spring Road in Laurel, which receives a solid new year bonus of $1,000 for selling a top tier winning scratch-off.
Red 5’s Doubler went on sale on Dec. 5 and, as of this week, is the most popular scratch-off in Maryland. The Laurel man is the second player to claim a top-prize, joining an Oxon Hill winner who claimed in December. Another seven $100,000 top prizes remain unclaimed. Also in the mix of unclaimed prizes are 10 of the original 11 at the $20,000 level, as well as thousands of prizes ranging from $10 to $10,000.
