Claims first top prize on Ravens scratch-off
A Baltimore auditor can’t stop smiling after beating the odds to win the $100,000 top prize on the Maryland Lottery’s Ravens scratch-off game. The lucky player is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and, while very happy about the big win, admits he bought the scratch-off hoping for a non-winner so he could enter it into the Lottery’s second-chance contest for season tickets.
“I really didn’t expect to win,” he said. “But, I’ll take it.”
The win came over the weekend while he was running errands with his girlfriend. They stopped in Royal Farms #66 at 9600 Pulaski Highway in Baltimore to visit the ATM and then quench their thirst with two bottles of Gatorade®. While at the store, the lucky man purchased three Ravens scratch-offs. The 28-year-old scratched off the $5 tickets in the car while his girlfriend drove them to her house.
He always scratches the numbers first before revealing the prize. He saw the matches and knew he had a winning ticket. What he didn’t immediately know was that he won one of the game’s five top prizes. “I looked at my girlfriend and said, ‘Yeah, this just happened!’ ”
After arriving home and letting the reality of the win sink in, he shared his good news with his dubious parents. “I had to take a picture of the ticket and send it to my mother for her to believe me,” he said.
He has no immediate plans for his prize other than investing most of it and using the remainder as a “slush fund.” He plans to continue playing the Ravens game and entering his non-winning tickets into the second-chance contest with hopes that Lady Luck will strike again. This year, players who enter ticket codes from non-winning Ravens scratch-offs into My Lottery Rewards can pick which prize they want to enter for a chance to win. Among the choices are season tickets for 20 years, $10,000 cash, traveling with the team to Miami, a family four-pack of tickets and more.
Also a winner is the Royal Farms retailer. For selling the top-prize ticket, the store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery.