Claims $50,000 prize from Oct. 11 drawing on his birthday
A Bowie man has thousands of reasons to celebrate – 50,000, in fact! He won the $50,000 third-tier prize playing Powerball on Oct. 11 and claimed the big prize on his birthday.
The Prince George’s County police officer, who enjoys playing both Powerball and Mega Millions, found himself at a Maryland Lottery retailer just in time to buy tickets for the Wednesday night drawing. The then 50-year-old was having a pre-birthday celebration drink at Corner Lounge located at 105 Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro and purchased two Powerball tickets. He then wrapped things up for the evening and headed home to prepare for his big day.
While many people take the day off on their birthday, this lucky jackpot chaser went in to work on Oct. 12. He remembered the two Powerball tickets he’d bought the night before and checked the winning numbers using the Maryland Lottery app on his phone. To his surprise, the lucky father of two teenage girls matched four white balls and the red Power Ball for a $50,000 win!
“I thought I was seeing things,” said the winner. “I never hit.” Well, call it birthday luck, because he indeed won the third-tier prize in the jackpot game.
He knew his prize was significant but was unsure of the exact amount. Instead of telling his wife and daughters about his Lottery luck, the police officer headed straight to the Lottery’s Customer Resource Center in Baltimore to claim his prize.
At Lottery headquarters, after getting the $50,000 confirmation, he texted his family about his good fortune. He got a quick response from his teenage daughters. When he didn’t hear back from his wife, he called her while speaking with Lottery officials. The surprised spouse expressed her happiness and excitement over the big win.
The lucky player plans to use some of the prize to treat his girls and his wife and will save the rest.
Because no one hit the jackpot in the Oct. 11 drawing, it jumped to $143 million for Saturday night’s drawing. The cash option is $89 million.