“Happy Birthdays!” of Anne Arundel County celebrates winning a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 top prize by playing family members’ birthdays.
‘Happy Birthdays!’ scores for top-prize win
An Anne Arundel County man came to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to celebrate his birthday. Although the date of his arrival wasn’t his actual birthday, he was celebrating the fact that his birthday and those of other family members helped him win a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 top prize.
The anonymous winner from Pasadena decided to give himself the nickname “Happy Birthdays!” to tell the story of his Lottery luck. The retired firefighter explained that he has played the same three lines of numbers for 20 years. Those three lines are combinations of different birthdays of family members.
“Happy Birthdays!” explained that he has had limited success, matching only four of the five numbers and Bonus Ball in drawings over the years. He was ecstatic when he discovered his ticket for the Aug. 3 drawing matched all five numbers. “Happy Birthdays!” saw the results of his big win on his Maryland Lottery App but still decided to watch the drawing online the next day for confirmation.
“I was in shock. I didn’t want to say anything to my daughter because she had to go to work the next day, but it was hard to keep it a secret,” said the happy winner.
He plans to use most of the $50,000 prize to pay off his home mortgage and will allocate the remainder for home improvement projects.
“Happy Birthdays!” loves to play Keno, too, and still plans to play Bonus Match 5 with the same numbers. “I am going to continue to play. I am waiting for the other lines to come out,” he said with a smile.
The 61-year-old bought his winning ticket for seven drawings at Green Valley Marketplace, which is located at 8095 Edwin Raynor Boulevard in Pasadena. For selling the lucky ticket, the Anne Arundel County retailer will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery.
