Claims top prize in Bonus Match 5 game
A Manchester man who works nights and weekends rarely misses a day playing $1 or $2 on the Maryland Lottery’s Bonus Match 5 game. Every morning or early afternoon, as he heads home from work, Ricky buys a quick-pick ticket for his favorite Lottery game.
The busy father of one didn’t hear that his favorite Lottery retailer had sold the $50,000 top-prize ticket for the Aug. 25 drawing. The next day, Ricky stopped by Piper’s Wine & Spirit Barn in Manchester on his way home from work to check his ticket and buy one for the next day’s drawing. He’s won prizes ranging from $15 to $400 in the past and was confused by the ticket checker’s message.
“It said ‘Congratulations’ and it didn’t show my winnings. I knew something was up,” he said.
The store clerk showed him the Aug. 25 winning numbers and he checked his ticket. “I was stunned,” he said. “This is the big one.”
The 53-year-old went home and put the ticket in a safe place until he could claim his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. He plans to put his winnings in the bank until he decides how to spend his prize. The Carroll County resident enjoys the game so much he’ll keep playing it along with the Lottery’s jackpot games, he said.
His retailer also wins. Piper’s Wine & Spirit Barn at 4127 Hanover Pike in Manchester receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize ticket.