Top prize win in $20 game won’t change Baltimore man’s Lottery play
For years, the amusement provided by scratching off Maryland Lottery instant tickets was enough to keep a Baltimore man happy. Winning $1 million, he said, won’t change his buying habits.
In fact, when the player and his wife claimed the life-changing prize this week, his wife reported, “He just bought some tickets.”
“I get enjoyment out of it,” the new millionaire said of his passion for playing scratch-offs. He enjoys thinking about what he might do with the winnings and prefers to play $20 and $30 instant tickets in his spare time.
His wife also enjoys his hobby. She enters his non-winning games into the My Lottery Rewards program to take advantage of second-chance opportunities.
The tale of his big win begins and ends in Baltimore. Instead of buying a game at his favorite Lottery retailer in Lexington Market, the player bought a $20 $5,000 Loaded scratch-off at Oak Street Station Oceanic in the city when he stopped to buy gas. Later that day, he headed to his usual Lexington Market spot to cash in some winning tickets. He scratched the latex off the prize check QR code on the $5,000 Loaded instant ticket and handed it to the clerk along with three other scratch-offs. He knew one of the instant tickets was worth $50 and one was worth $100, but he wasn’t sure about the other two. One was a non-winner, and, of course, there was his $1 million top-prize winner.
“The clerk said, ‘I can’t cash this! You know your life is going to change,’” the big winner recalled. He then phoned his wife to share his good news. When he said he had won, she figured it was a solid amount, like a few thousand dollars, but was astonished to hear the $1 million tally.
As for his plans for his prize, the Baltimore millionaire has a few: “First I’m going to buy a car. Then, I’m going to buy a house.” After that, he says, he will settle a few bills while keeping word of his big win a secret. And, of course, this lucky player will still buy Lottery games!
His big win leads to a bonus for the Lottery retailer. For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off worth more than $100,000, Oak Street Station Oceanic located at 2040 North Howard Street will receive a bonus of $1,000 from the Lottery.
This $20 game still has five more $1 million top prizes remaining, along with six $50,000 prizes and 42 $10,000 prizes. A member of the Loaded family of scratch-off games, this instant ticket went on sale in May along with a $1 $50 Loaded scratch-off, $2 $100 Loaded game, $5 $500 Loaded game and $10 $1,000 Loaded game.