Winning a Maryland Lottery prize of $114,257 on the Friday before a holiday weekend gave a Prince George’s County man plenty of time to think about what he’d be doing with the money.
On the afternoon of May 22, the Friday before Memorial Day, he stopped by Accokeek Liquors at 15789 Livingston Road in the Prince George’s County town, bought a $10 FAST PLAY High Roller Blackjack ticket, won the progressive jackpot and then set about figuring out how to claim the windfall.
First, he asked about claiming at an expanded cashing authority program, or XCAP, location, but they can only cash up to $5,000. Then he called a casino, but they can cash out only up to $25,000. Then he went home and made a Tuesday appointment to claim at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. By the time he arrived, he’d been thinking of the options.
He started with, “I’m going to give back to the church I go to,” then made mention of his sons’ cars needing some work.
Then there are the fun things he’d like to do, which include taking a vacation and possibly securing tickets for an NBA finals game. Most importantly, he wants to establish a college fund for his young grandson. And he wants to invest some for his retirement.
“I’m not going to be young forever,” he said.
The winner said he had a dream about winning a Lottery jackpot. Though the details of the dream didn’t exactly match his real life experience, he did say the overall feel of winning “was unbelievable.”
The Lottery regular says he will continue playing, buying tickets in moderation.
“I don’t want to give it all back!” he said.
Accokeek Liquors will receive a $1,000 bonus.
The FAST PLAY High Roller Blackjack game went on sale in January. The progressive jackpot prize starts at $100,000 and grows every time someone buys a non-jackpot prize. The game started with 30 progressive jackpot prizes, and has 24 remaining, along with 14 prizes of $50,000.
