 These happy Western Maryland co-workers celebrate their $1 million win! |
Four share second-tier prize from Saturday’s drawing
Smiling from ear to ear, a group of Washington County pizza shop co-workers and friends walked into Maryland Lottery headquarters this morning with a $1 million winning Powerball ticket in their possession. The excited quartet couldn’t wait to talk about their big win.
Brandon Dougan, the group’s spokesperson, purchased seven tickets for the Powerball team from GT’s Handimart in Cascade, Md. on Saturday morning. That evening, around midnight, Brandon checked the winning numbers and couldn’t believe what he saw. He immediately called Ciro Schiano-Di-Cola, a co-worker at Rocky’s New York Pizza who is a member of the Powerball-playing group.
“He said, ‘We matched five numbers,’ ” said Ciro. “I told him that I didn’t believe him and that he should come over to show me.” Once there, Brandon showed Ciro the ticket. After a lot of hugging and jumping for joy, they called Marianna Parascandolo and Francesco Infantino, the married owners of the Cascade, Md. pizza shop who are the remaining members of the group. All four winners went to work on Sunday with a little extra pep in their step and planned to hurry back to work after claiming the prize Monday morning.
They all have big plans with their windfall. Brandon, who is married with one daughter, just moved into a new house. With his share of the prize, he plans to buy new furniture and a new truck. Ciro is engaged and looks forward to using some his share of the prize toward his wedding and a house. Marianna and Francesco will happily pay off some bills.
GT’s Handimart is at 25313 Military Road in Cascade, a town of approximately 1,100 residents. For selling the winning ticket, the store will receive a $2,500 bonus. The store’s owner, Gregory Delauter, was thrilled to learn that he sold the winning ticket and that the winners were from the small town.
This was the fifth second-tier winning Powerball ticket sold in Maryland this year. No one won the jackpot Saturday, making the Wednesday, June 11 drawing worth an estimated $257 million.