Winning $50,000 on a $500 Frenzy scratch-off had “Jamaican Steve’s” heart hammering in his
chest! A friend joined the winner (right) to claim the prize.

Claims top prize on $500 Frenzy scratch-off

A routine stop at Modern Liquors in Temple Hills helped a Maryland Lottery scratch-off fan collide with Lady Luck, resulting in a trip to the Winners Circle at Lottery headquarters to claim his $50,000 prize from a $500 Frenzy scratch-off.

Nicknamed “Jamaican Steve,” the Brentwood man dropped in at the Lottery retailer to pick up weekend supplies. “It was just a normal Thursday after work and I was driving home and needed to get my scratch-offs and ‘weekend groceries,’ ” he said.

The GAL worker bought several scratch-offs and went home. He didn’t scratch off the instant tickets until his football team’s game time arrived on Sunday.

“I was scratching the ticket and saw the money bags and knew that I won something. When I saw the ‘5’ and saw a ‘0’ next to it and it kept continuing, my heart dramatically started to beat out of my chest,” said the 41-year-old. “This is the biggest win to date for me.”

“Jamaican Steve” knew, from experience as a loyal scratch-off player, that he wasn’t dreaming and there was no need to return to the store. Instead, he brought the lucky $5 scratch-off to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore and scanned the ticket there to confirm his win and claim his prize.

The happy winner plans to use the prize to pay off bills and will share the wealth with family members, do some holiday shopping and buy something special for himself. He also plans to continue playing in hope of returning to the Winners Circle soon.

There are still two top-prize $500 Frenzy instant tickets awaiting discovery at Lottery retailers along with thousands of other prizewinners ranging from $5 to $5,000. The game is a member of the Frenzy family of scratch-offs; check out the $1 $50 Frenzy, $2 $100 Frenzy and $10 $1,000 Frenzy instant tickets!

“Jamaican Steve” is not the only winner in this story. Modern Liquors located at 2358 Iverson Street is also seeing green. For selling a top-prize scratch-off in the game, the Prince George’s County retailer earned a $500 bonus from the Lottery.