Santa delivered a special $50,000 winning scratch-off to Richard Veal in time for Christmas. |
Montgomery County man wins $50,000 top prize playing $50,000 Bonus Cash game
Santa sure was good to a 58-year-old Montgomery County man! Richard Veal made Santa’s nice list and discovered his $50,000 Maryland Lottery gift early on Christmas morning.
The fun and games began on Christmas Eve as Richard did last minute holiday shopping. In the midst of store hopping, the lucky player stopped at Walnut Exxon in Gaithersburg and bought four Maryland Lottery instant tickets.
“It’s not often that I play scratch-offs,” said Richard, “but I had $20 so I picked up four $5 $50,000 Bonus Cash tickets.”
The Montgomery Village resident finished his errands, placed his tickets on his dresser and settled in for a long winter’s nap. Christmas morning arrived and the soon-to-be winner was in for his biggest Lottery gift ever! He made breakfast, sat down with a cup of coffee and proceeded to scratch off his games. It wasn’t until the third instant ticket that he experienced Christmas magic.
“I was shocked to see one of my numbers matched and below it was the $50,000 prize,” said Richard. “It’s so amazing that I received this special gift on Christmas morning!”
He immediately took a picture of his winning instant ticket and texted the image to his sister. He also shared news of his good fortune with a few friends and went to a Lottery retailer to confirm the win. Store employees told Richard what to do next.
“I was ecstatic,” he said. The lucky winner locked his scratch-off in the closet until after the holidays when he could claim his prize.
The loyal player, who is out on disability, said he’ll use some of the winnings for medical bills. He’s also a devoted church member and plans to donate to his church and to a charity. His sister, who cared for him when he was ill, will also get some of the prize, he said.
Walnut Hill Exxon also benefits from Richard’s Christmas win. For selling the top-prize scratch-off in the game, the store located at 16425 South Frederick Road in Gaithersburg earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery.
Richard left plenty of winning scratch-offs in the $50,000 Bonus Cash scratch-off game. It launched Nov. 27 and has six $50,000 top prizes remaining along with thousands of others ranging from $5 to $5,000.