A quick-pick Bonus Match 5 ticket gave Arthur “Otts” Franck III of Baltimore a $50,000 win.

A Baltimore retiree who loves saltwater fishing is all smiles after landing the first big Maryland Lottery catch of his life – a $50,015 prize on a Bonus Match 5 ticket.

Loyal player Arthur Franck III strolled into the Lottery Winner’s Circle for the first time in his life after claiming his big win in the Oct. 9 drawing. The retired heavy equipment operator reports playing a variety of Lottery games for 20 years, including scratch-offs and Bonus Match 5, and consistently winning small prizes of $10 here and $15 there. The size of his Bonus Match 5 prize was simply stunning.

“I’d hit for 100 bucks over the years and I’d go nuts,” said Arthur, who goes by the nickname “Otts.” Winning $50,000 has the father of two and grandfather of four happy as a clam. He’s planning to pay off all of his bills and then enjoy a saltwater fishing vacation in Ocean City. In addition to catching flounder, there’s one more big fish Arthur would love to hook – the $1 million Multi-Match jackpot up for grabs in the Thursday, Oct. 12 drawing. “It’d be great if I hit again,” he said.

He purchased his winning Bonus Match 5 ticket at Discount Cigarettes located at 5716 Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park. The South Baltimore resident routinely buys quick-pick Bonus Match 5 tickets there for three drawings at a time. He’ll check his tickets periodically on the store’s ticket checker and sometimes walk away with a win. His big winner was a $12 ticket – six lines of numbers covering the drawings on Oct. 8, 9 and 10.

“I had that ticket in my pocket when I came in to buy more tickets and decided to check it,” Otts said. He asked the clerk for help when the scanner directed him to cash the ticket at the Lottery.

“The girl said, ‘I’ve never seen that before,’” Otts said. She checked with another worker and came back to quietly tell him that he’d won the game’s $50,000 top prize! In addition, the ticket was so lucky he won another $15 on it for matching three numbers in the Oct. 10 drawing.

Discount Cigarettes is a winner, too. The lucky Lottery retailer earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize ticket in the daily game.