He needed food and the car needed gas, a Howard County man said when asked what led to his recent run in with lottery luck at a Royal Farms store.
Both his and the car’s immediate needs were met there, but more importantly, the $50,004 Powerball winning ticket purchased during the stop will do much to assure his family’s longer-term security.
“After I gassed up I went inside to get something to eat,” the law enforcement official said July 18 after claiming his prize. “That’s when I noticed the lottery machine.”
He describes himself as an occasional Lottery player and, by chance, it had been a few weeks since he last bought a ticket.
“I figured, why not?”
He chose Powerball and bought a $10 quick pick ticket (five sets of numbers) for the July 14 drawing. He discovered he’d won a third-tier prize – matching four of the first five balls plus the Powerball – courtesy of his Lottery smartphone app.
“I did a double-take when I compared the numbers to my ticket.” Matching the Powerball on another of his five combinations added $4 to his total.
“It was a real surprise. Never expected it.”
The Powerball winnings will be added to his family’s savings.
“It’s comforting to know that we have this extra cushion.”
The Royal Farms store at 8268 Lark Brown Drive in Elkridge sold the hot ticket.
