Lottery Retailer’s Staff Correctly Suspect Loyal Player Won Jackpot

“King Claw” of Mt. Airy learned of his $690,000 Multi-Match jackpot win after an employee at the store that sold the ticket asked his wife if he won.

Mt. Airy man hits $690,000 Multi-Match jackpot over the holidays

Imagine being such a loyal Multi-Match player that grocery employees suspect you bought the $690,000-winning jackpot ticket sold by their store in the Dec. 26 drawing. That’s what happened to a Mt. Airy man, who hadn’t checked his tickets yet.

The winner, who is calling himself “King Claw” for Lottery publicity, said he frequently shops at the Mt. Airy Safeway. While there, he usually purchases new tickets and scans old tickets.

“With the holidays, I had been busy and did not get a chance to check any of my tickets,” he said.

The mystery began when the Maryland Lottery announced that a jackpot-winning Multi-Match ticket was sold at Safeway #1815 on 337 East Ridgeville Boulevard. The Frederick County retailer received a $1,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket and some curious employees began wondering who won.

One employee saw “King Claw’s” wife shopping and told her about the winning ticket. He asked if her husband was the big winner. She relayed the question to “King Claw,” who did not know if he had won but immediately checked his tickets.

“I looked at it six times. I didn’t think it was real,” said “King Claw.”

The happy construction worker said the prize will go toward paying off his home mortgage and his future retirement.

There’s still time to try to win the first Multi-Match jackpot of 2023. The estimated jackpot for the Monday, Jan. 9 drawing is $530,000 with an estimated cash option of $280,000.