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A Penn State Nittany Lions fan is our new $1 million winner on the Black scratch-off.Retired state employee wins top prize on Black instant ticket
Persistence paid off for a Penn State Nittany Lions fan, whose decision to buy just one more Black scratch-off made him the Maryland Lottery’s newest $1 million winner.
The Baltimore resident was on his way to play in a best-ball golf tournament when he stopped at his favorite Lottery retailer, Woodbrook Exxon at 6201 North Charles Street in Baltimore, to buy two scratch-offs. His first $20 Black ticket was a non-winner but a second scratch-off delivered a $10 prize. Not giving up hope for a big win, the retired state employee took $10 from his wallet and combined it with his $10 prize to try his luck with a second Black ticket.
When he scratched off the ticket, the 66-year-old first thought he won a few thousand dollars. But when he scanned the ticket at the Lottery terminal, he got a surprising message.
“It said ‘Cash at Lottery,’ and that got me starting to feel a little excited,” he said. “And then, I showed it to the attendant at the store and I got very excited!”
The Baltimore County resident set off for the golf course and was midway through the round when he finally notified his buddies of his tremendous good fortune.
“And I played pretty well,” he said. In spite of his excitement, he still had enough concentration to hit a 40-foot downhill putt.
The father of one said he enjoys playing scratch-off games and his whopping win on the Black ticket dwarfs his previous prizes. Until last week, his top prizes were a pair of $500 wins. He plans to use his prize money to pay off debts, make investments and possibly take a cruise or a vacation to Europe.
The retailer is a winner as well. Woodbrook Exxon will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the winning ticket. The Black ticket launched in November 2014, and there is still one $1 million top prize that hasn’t been claimed, along with three $50,000 prizes.