Claims taxes-paid $50,000 prize playing All Cash No Taxes game
A $50,000 winning scratch-off felt like it was burning a hole in the pocket of a Baltimore City employee who visited Maryland Lottery headquarters on Monday. He couldn’t wait to claim the prize he discovered last weekend while playing the All Cash No Taxes scratch-off.
The 56-year-old is an avid Lottery player who has a unique method for picking the instant ticket he will play. As unscientific as it may be, that method produced the taxes-paid top-prize win.
“I know where the scratch tickets are in the stores where I play,” the mechanic said. “I walk toward the display and look up quickly. The first ticket my gaze falls upon is the one.” That lucky look on Friday at Grossman’s Liquor in Baltimore focused on All Cash No Taxes, a $5 game that debuted Dec. 27. Now comes the second part of our winner’s method. “I put the ticket in my pocket and went home. I never scratch ‘em right away. I wait.”
Two days later, the loyal Lottery player and his girlfriend decided to play their instant tickets. She has adopted his wait-and-see policy!
“I started to scratch the All Cash ticket and the $50,000 match was the first thing I saw, just like the ticket had been the first game I saw at the store,” he said. “It was crazy.”
A very low-key guy (according to his girlfriend), our winner passed her his winning ticket and that’s when the screaming started. “He was very calm, but I just couldn’t stop yelling,” she told Lottery officials when the pair claimed the prize.
The couple plans to pay several big bills with their winnings. More importantly, they will move his mother into a nicer home with no steps. “She’s plenty lively, but the stairs where she lives now are getting to be a problem. This move will be great for her.”
The lucky Lottery retailer is also a winner. For selling a top-prize scratch-off in the game, Grossman’s Liquors located at 1800 North Rosedale Street will earn a $500 bonus from the Lottery. The top-prize win is the second for the All Cash No Taxes game. Seven more top prizes remain along with 12 $5,000 prizes and thousands of others ranging from $5 to $1,000.