A Middle River man who rarely plays the lottery is celebrating a $50,000 Powerball win after taking a chance on the recent unusually massive $1.7 billion jackpot.
The winner, who stopped by Maryland Lottery headquarters Sept. 5 to claim his prize and share his story, said he couldn’t resist purchasing $100 worth of tickets when he saw the record-breaking jackpot. The following day, while on the phone with his mother, their conversation turned to Powerball. After mentioning his purchase, she quickly read off the winning numbers. To his surprise, his tickets matched all but one.
Uncertain if he had truly won, he had a friend who owns a bar that is also a lottery retailer scan the ticket. The machine confirmed his $50,000 win. Still in disbelief, he verified it again using the Maryland Lottery smartphone app.
“I was alone, so I ran around celebrating like a kid with a sugar rush,” he said with a laugh. “I was honestly so surprised because I don’t play the lottery at all.”
Though the excitement was real, the winner acknowledged it was bittersweet realizing he didn’t win the jackpot.
“I immediately went out and bought more tickets,” he said. “It’s fun to fantasize about winning that much money—it’s life-changing.”
The Royal Farms store at 406 Bowley’s Quarters Road in Baltimore County sold the third-tier winner.
