Lucky Feeling Leads Havre de Grace Man to $129,149 FAST PLAY Win

This Havre de Grace resident celebrated a big FAST PLAY prize.

Fan of World Championship Poker game calls win ‘life changing’

A Havre de Grace man who said he’s been through challenging times in the last couple of years experienced a big change in his fortunes on Feb. 15 when he landed a $129,149 progressive jackpot prize in the FAST PLAY World Championship Poker game.

The Harford County resident, who works as a UPS package handler, recently celebrated his 41st birthday, and he dubbed himself “Luck of the Draw” for Lottery publicity after claiming the big win in his favorite game.

“I had a lucky feeling,” he said. “I thought I was going to hit. I had a strange feeling.”

On Feb. 15, “Luck of the Draw” bought two of the $5 World Championship Poker tickets at Royal Farms #194 in Havre de Grace. Neither ticket was a winner, but he decided to buy two more.

“Luck of the Draw” is a fan of actually playing the game on this poker-themed ticket. He took time to look over one of the tickets and suddenly realized that it was a winner. He wasn’t sure exactly of the prize, so he scanned the ticket and the message said to see the cashier.

“I was so happy,” he said. “I was jumping up and down. I was shaking.”

He wound up taking the two tickets to another retailer to verify his big win and the fourth ticket, which he hadn’t finished playing, delivered a $5 prize. “Luck of the Draw” took the $129,149 winning ticket home, removed a tile in his drop ceiling and put the ticket above the air duct until he could claim his prize at Lottery headquarters.

“I barely slept,” he said. “I knew this would change my life for the good.”

“Luck of the Draw” plans to pay off bills with the prize, including his car loan. He added that he may go back to college and buy into an investment property in Baltimore City, too. “This is like a dream come true,” he said.

The Royal Farms store visited by “Luck of the Draw” can also celebrate. For selling a jackpot-winning FAST PLAY ticket of $100,000 or more, the Harford County business receives a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery.