A quick scratch-off break before work turned into a $50,000 surprise for a Severna Park mechanic who discovered he had matched five winning numbers on the Rose Gold scratch-off.
The longtime Maryland Lottery player enjoys games including Racetrax and scratch-offs and frequently purchases tickets at 29 Convenience Mart, 10755 Colesville Road in Silver Spring.
The auto body shop mechanic said he often saves his scratch-offs for work breaks when he has time to play.
On this particular day, he began scratching his Rose Gold ticket and quickly spotted a match in the YOUR NUMBERS section. The number 18 revealed a $10,000 prize.
“I was like, ‘Whoa,’” he recalled.
Wanting to make sure he understood the game instructions, he turned the ticket over to double check the rules. As he continued scratching, he uncovered four more $10,000 prizes, bringing his total winnings to $50,000.
He was eager to share the news with his wife, so he stepped outside to call her. When she didn’t answer the first time, he tried again. Thinking something was wrong, she picked up.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I told her I got 50,” he recalled.
“OK,” she responded.
His wife initially thought he was talking about $50.
“Well, fifty thousand,” he clarified. Then he sent her a photo of the ticket.
“What?” she responded.
Once she saw the confirmation, she became emotional, describing the unexpected win as a blessing.
The $50,000 prize will help ease the financial pressure of a family member’s medical bills.
The winner also hopes to use some of the money to take his family on a long overdue vacation and invest the remainder.
He claimed his prize Nov. 4 at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, with his wife by his side.
The Rose Gold scratch-off launched in April with eight $100,000 top prizes. There are currently five top prizes, two $50,000 and hundreds of thousands of other prizes between $10 and $10,000 remaining.
