A trip to the grocery helped “Greg” of Rockville bag a $50,000 scratch-off prize.
Scratch-off fan finds first top prize on $5 scratch-off
A Rockville man who keeps his eyes open for new Lottery scratch-offs had just finished his grocery shopping at a Food Lion store when he spotted the new Hot 7s Tripler game.
“I was on the way out the door and I always check the (Lottery self-serving vending) machine,” the Montgomery County resident said. “I like when they introduce new scratch-offs, they’re usually kind of hot.”
The anonymous winner, who chose the nickname “Greg” to tell the story of his big win, said he has won small prizes over the years and decided to try his luck with the game that has “hot” in the title. He selected two of the $5 Hot 7s Tripler scratch-offs. The game went on sale May 22 and still had all eight top prizes available.
The loyal player, who works at a different grocery store, took the games to his vehicle and scratched them off in the store parking lot. “I didn’t believe it,” he said. Stunned to see he won a $50,000 top prize, “Greg” took the scratch-off to a nearby Lottery retailer to have it scanned. “At that time, it was 9 in the morning,” he said.
“Greg” walked into the quiet liquor store and asked the clerk to check the scratch-off for a win. She scanned the instant ticket, looked at him with her eyes wide and confirmed the $50,000 prize.
The happy winner hid the lucky scratch-off for several days until he could claim his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore with his brother by his side. The windfall is going into the bank initially, he said.
The Hot 7s Tripler is a member of a “Hot” family of scratch-offs, which includes the $1 Hot 7s, $2 Hot 7s Doubler, $3 Red Hot Cash, $10 Hot 7s Multiplier and $20 Hot 777 games. His lucky Lottery retailer, Food Lion #1661, is also a winner. For selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off, the store located at 845 Rockville Pike in Rockville will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery.
