Silver Spring bus driver wheels over to Lottery headquarters to claim his prize
A lucky Silver Spring man can say farewell to 2017 in style now that he’s claimed the $50,000 Powerball prize he won back in August.
Although months have passed, the Maryland Lottery fan can recall the events leading up to his big win as if they occurred only yesterday. The bus driver reports being bound for the post office on Aug. 23 when Lady Luck whispered in his ear. He had planned to collect his mail and send several things out. On his journey, he spotted Maryland Lottery retailer Wheaton Winery in Silver Spring and decided to stop by after his post office errands.
The 65-year-old, who typically plays Multi-Match, said a feeling came over him as he stood in the Montgomery County store located at 2211 University Boulevard. He felt that Powerball was the game to play that day. “Something in my mind said you need to buy two Powerball tickets,” the winner said.
He did! The drawing came and went but the lucky player didn’t check his two Powerball tickets because of his busy schedule.
“Two weeks later, I looked up my ticket results and I was in shock and awe,” he said. “I had to get the (winning) ticket verified.”
A Lottery retailer confirmed his luck. So, what took him so long to claim his prize?
“I was just busy with work and stuff and realized that if I didn’t go soon, I wouldn’t be able to claim my winnings,” the happy player said, laughing. Winners have 182 days after the jackpot drawing to claim prizes.
What will he do with his prize? He plans to save it for now and put it toward retirement and possibly a new guitar.
There’s still time to buy your Powerball tickets for the upcoming drawing. Lots of Powerball players are chasing the jackpot, which rolled to $383 million for the Saturday, Dec. 30 drawing with a cash option of $239.7 million.