Baltimore man claims $10,000 prize
A retired truck driver rolled away as a top-prize instant winner after his first attempt playing the Maryland Lottery’s 5 Card Cash game.
“I wanted to try something new,” he told Lottery officials, when asked about his 5 Card Cash purchase that produced an instant $10,000 win over the weekend. “I play every once in a while and have so far tried almost every game – except 5 Card Cash.” The new (to him) game resulted in a new (to him) experience: a significant Lottery win.
The 67-year-old resident of Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood has had several Lottery wins over the years, many of which approached $100. Winning is a thrill each time. “I get tickets when I’m with friends who play, which isn’t that often,” said the Caribbean native. “They joke that I’m a lucky charm because I seem to get money each time.”
This past Saturday found him at 7-Eleven #18127 at 2033 Liberty Road in Eldersburg, stopping for a snack with a friend. “My friend bought a 5 Card Cash ticket, so I asked him about the game and got one.” No sooner had he made the purchase than his friend began jumping and pointing to the Lottery machine. “He told me that I’d won instantly, before there was even a drawing. I was happy, of course, but when he told me that I’d won $10,000, I almost cried.”
The unique instant-win feature of 5 Card Cash relies on randomly issued playing cards on each game ticket. If the five cards form any of several traditional poker hands, the player wins a corresponding instant cash prize. The winner’s ticket featured a Royal Flush, good for $10,000. He reports that some of his winnings will go in the bank and the rest sent home to his family.
The second component of the game is tied to a daily drawing. Each evening, the Lottery will draw five cards from a standard 52-card deck. Players win by matching two, three, four or five of the randomly drawn cards including the same suit and rank. He didn’t match any of the winning cards drawn.
His Lottery retailer wins, too. For selling a winning 5 Card Cash ticket of $10,000 or more, the 7-Eleven earns a $100 bonus from the Lottery – equal to 1 percent of the prize.