Montgomery County man claims $50,000 prize
When his wife asked why he had just pulled into a gas station, a Maryland Lottery Powerball player replied that he “just wanted one more ticket.” The jackpot had rolled to $420 million for the March 14 drawing and that’s what drew him to Congressional Sunoco with a gas tank that was three-fourths full.
While he already had several tickets for that Wednesday night drawing, the Montgomery County resident wanted one last quick-pick ticket. As it turned out, Congressional Sunoco located at 1469 Rockville Pike was his lucky Lottery pit stop.
“I’ve been playing these games since the Lottery opened up,” said the car salesman. Having won small amounts frequently over the years, he had matched a winning number or two on his tickets before. But what he saw the next night when he checked that last ticket was one heck of a surprise.
“I always look at the last number first, so when I saw that I’d matched the Powerball, I yelled to my wife that we’d won $4. Then, the fifth number matched, and the fourth, and the third, not the second, but, yes for the first.” In utter disbelief, the loyal player called again to his wife. “I told her that instead of the $4, it looked like we’d just won $50,000. She didn’t believe it, either, but it was real. The whole thing was pretty crazy.”
The winner was the only Marylander to take home a $50,000 prize in the drawing and one of 47 winners around the country to do so. Maryland had more than 33,700 winners in the March 14 drawing. The jackpot, which was hit on March 17, is $40 million for the March 21 drawing.
The couple told Lottery officials that they plan to spend part of their Powerball winnings on a family project they have put off for too long.