A novice Lottery player from Prince George’s County returned to the Winner’s Circle room at Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore on Jan. 6 to claim the second installment of a double $50,000 Pick 5 win from the evening of Oct. 15 when the winning number was 29000.
He had two tickets with that combination for the same drawing and claimed one of the $50,000 prizes later in October while keeping the second ticket in a safe spot. He used the proceeds from the first ticket to pay off his car loan, and the rest ended up in a savings account where it will be joined by the second $50,000 prize he claimed this week.
He said he wanted to minimize his tax burden, so he claimed the prizes in two different years. Once he has the winnings in hand, the young salesman is looking forward to buying a place of his own and moving out of his mom’s house.
“I really enjoy the area,” he said.
Though not a Lottery regular back in October, he has a friend who is an avid player who has had prizes in the $3,000 range.
“One day I was feeling lucky,” he said after claiming his second $50,000 prize, mom at his side. He recalled hearing the number 29000 in the news.
Interestingly, that combination was in the news in early October related to a variety of stories including one about the starting price of a new electric car. Coincidentally, a woman from Washington, D.C., was similarly inspired, in part by the news, to play 29000 on the same evening. She bought five tickets and ended up with $250,000.
Though he’s a Lottery novice, he isn’t a total stranger to Lottery games. He said his grandmother is a regular on the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games and has won as much as $10,000.
“She gives me advice,” he said. As far as playing more regularly since his win, he said, “I’ve got to now! I play for fun.”
He purchased his winning tickets at Gem Liquors at 9443 Annapolis Road in Lanham, which received bonuses totaling $1,000 for selling the two $50,000 winners.
