Claims $50,000 prize in Feb. 24 drawing
A 50-year-old Nottingham man who really enjoys playing the Maryland Lottery’s Bonus Match 5 game has come extremely close to winning the $50,000 top prize many times. Feb. 24 was his day to win!
Our lucky player said he has matched four of the five winning numbers nearly 20 times. All of those close calls ended Friday night when a switch in his routine led to his purchase of a winning ticket from Casa Mia Restaurant in Baltimore.
“Normally, my wife and I go out to dinner on Friday nights but she had something to do,” said the winner, who works as a store clerk at a Nottingham liquor store. “So, I took on an extra shift.”
The big winner had already played Bonus Match 5 for the week but decided, on a whim, to purchase a quick-pick ticket. He did so at Casa Mia Restaurant. Before returning to work for the next shift, he scanned the ticket to see if he’d had another close call. The father of two remembers standing in shock as he read a message directing him to Lottery headquarters to claim his prize.
Nervous and excited, the winner locked the ticket in his car’s glove compartment and finished his shift. He later went home and shared the good news with his wife and father-in-law.
“The two of them can keep me calm,” he said. “But, it was a very long weekend waiting to cash that ticket.” He and his wife did eventually go out to dinner over the weekend to celebrate the win. Because they had already planned and paid for a vacation to Jamaica, the winner plans to use some of the prize for a second vacation and to pay some bills.
His lucky retailer, Casa Mia’s Restaurant, is located at 8601 Honeygo Boulevard in Nottingham. For selling a top-prize Bonus Match 5 ticket, the Baltimore County business will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery.