A retired grocery manager buys his jackpot tickets every week for every drawing to make sure he never misses a chance at winning a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot. The 78-year-old always hopes, of course, that the big-money prizes will come his way while acknowledging the tough odds against a jackpot win.
That pessimism was shaken this week, however, when the Lanham man joined the nearly two dozen Marylanders claiming a $10,000 prize in the recent billion-dollar Mega Millions excitement. He bought a $6 quick-pick ticket Oct. 23 for that night’s drawing at Quick Stop Food Mart located at 500 Main Street in Laurel.
“I watched the billion-dollar drawing on Tuesday night,” he told Lottery officials, referring to this week’s near-world record Mega Millions drawing. “I had used quick pick for my tickets, but I’d studied them a little. When the balls were drawn I thought I recognized one or two.”
It wasn’t until the next morning that the Prince George’s County man realized that he’d in fact matched four of the white balls and the Mega ball. “It looked to me like a $10,000 win, but I wouldn’t believe until I took it to the store to make sure. Only then did I call my daughter.”
Our latest Mega Millions winner plans to use his prize to make the holidays extra special for his family. His ticket was one of 23 in Maryland to merit the game’s $10,000 third-tier prize during the run-up to the $1.535 billion drawing. Two of these wins – thanks to the multiplier option – jumped to $30,000.