Annapolis man claims $77,777 prize in scratch-off game
A 37-year-old Annapolis man will have a much easier time putting his children through college after winning the $77,777 top prize on the Maryland Lottery’s Lucky 7 scratch-off game.
Our winner buys scratch-offs every few days and has occasionally bought Powerball tickets. Until now, however, the father of three has never won a big prize.
His luck changed on April 7! The construction worker and truck driver visited Pantry 1 Food Mart at 1090 Spa Road in Annapolis, where he purchased three Lucky 7 tickets and scratched them in the store. The first of the $5 tickets didn’t yield a prize, but the second scratch-off delivered the $77,777 Lottery win. He asked the store clerk to verify the win “just to make sure” and our winner quickly went home to his family to share the good news.
“I got very happy,” he said, laughing. “It’s really good money.”
With two daughters in high school and another daughter in middle school, the Anne Arundel County resident said his prize will help pay for college tuition. He hid the winning ticket in a cabinet until he could come to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize.
“We were all very happy about it, and I wanted to keep the ticket safe,” he said.
Lucky 7 scratch-offs went on sale Dec. 29, 2014. There are still two $77,777 top prizes that have not yet been claimed. For selling the winning ticket, Pantry 1 Food Mart will receive a $777 bonus from the Lottery.