Somerset County man wins $50,000 on All Cash, No Taxes game
A 47-year-old Somerset County man who is a huge fan of scratch-off games finally hit the big one. The lucky player has won small amounts before, but when he made a recent routine stop before work he scratched his way to a nice little nest egg.
Every day before work, the landscaper stops at the Royal Farms Store at 30452 Mount Vernon Road in Princess Anne for a cup of coffee and scratch-off games. On Feb. 9, he purchased only one ticket, the $5 All Cash No Taxes game. He scratched it there in the store and what he saw was amazing.
“I immediately matched the first number with a prize amount of $5,000,” said the winner. “That’s when my friend told me to quietly scratch the rest of the ticket, because it could be more.”
To the lucky player’s surprise, indeed it was a lot more. As the Princess Anne resident continued to scratch the game he revealed a string of $5,000 prize amounts – 10 of them, to be exact – totaling $50,000. What is even more exciting, is that just as the title of the ticket indicates, the All Cash No Taxes game is tax-free, which means the winner will receive the entire $50,000 amount.
The father of five folded his ticket, put it in his phone case and continued on to work. After sharing the news with his supervisor, she agreed to let him take the next day off to claim the big prize. That night was a restless one for the lucky player.
“I really can’t believe it,” he said. “I tossed and turned all night eventually just getting up for good around 2 a.m.”
Later that morning, the winner’s friend drove him to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize. The winner hasn’t yet made plans for the prize, but said he will help his children and put the rest of the money into savings.
“I can do some of things I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the money,” he said with a smile.
The All Cash No Taxes game was launched in December, and six of its $50,000 tax-free prizes have not yet been claimed. There are also 12 unclaimed $5,000 prizes, 33 $1,000 prizes and thousands of additional prizes ranging from $5 to $500.
The retailer is a winner as well. For selling the top-prize-winning ticket, the Royal Farms store will receive a $500 bonus from the Maryland Lottery – equal to 1 percent of the prize value.