“Alexander Maldonado” celebrates his $50,000 scratch-off prize. |
Hot Riches ticket delivers $50,000 top prize
Occasionally, people have dreams that seem too good to ever come true. But a Gaithersburg man recently had that exact experience when he won a top prize of $50,000 on the Hot Riches scratch-off ticket.
“I freaked out when I saw that it was a winner, man,” said the Montgomery County resident, who dubbed himself “Alexander Maldonado.” “Even the retailer was extremely excited for me.”
Late on the evening of March 12, Alexander was getting gas when he heard a voice saying, “No one has won today, so it could be you my friend!” After realizing that the voice came from the retailer at Lake Forest Exxon in Gaithersburg, Alexander decided to try his Lottery luck after he finished filling his gas tank.
He bought two of the $5 Hot Riches scratch-off tickets, but before the retailer could give Alexander his change, he was scratching one of the tickets to find that it was a $5 winner. Feeling lucky, he proceeded to scratch the next one. This time, the prize started with a five – but there were four zeros behind it.
Filled with excitement as he visited Lottery headquarters this week, Alexander recalled a dream he had a couple days earlier that he won a big prize on the “Bonus” section of a scratch-off ticket.
“It’s crazy to think something can happen like that,” he said.
The winner is planning to buy a home next year and will use his winnings toward the new house. Lake Forest Exxon is celebrating as well. The retailer, located at 448 North Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg, will receive a $500 bonus for selling the top-prize-winning ticket.
Hot Riches launched in June 2018, and the ticket still has one more unclaimed $50,000 top prize, along with thousands of additional prizes ranging from $5 to $1,000.