Finds $50,000 prize playing Million Dollar Spectacular game
A 30-year-old convenience store employee got the shock of his life twice, thanks to a Maryland Lottery Million Dollar Spectacular instant ticket and the sharp eyes of a good friend.
The Silver Spring resident worked his regular daytime shift at a Montgomery County store and then helped a friend by covering his evening shift. On his way home, the exhausted man stopped at a 7-Eleven in Burtonsville for a soda and an instant ticket. The native of Ethiopia is a frequent player of Lottery games and wanted to play a scratch-off before getting some much-needed sleep.
“I saw a ticket I’d not noticed before, so I chose it,” he said. The $20 Million Dollar Spectacular game debuted in December and features a $1 million top prize. Scratching off his ticket while in the store parking lot, the tired man was amazed to see a $10,000 win. “For a minute, I didn’t know where I was,” he said. “It was a shock.”
He called the co-worker whose shift he had just worked to share the news. “At first, he couldn’t believe that I wasn’t asleep after working for so long. Then, he was surprised by my win. He came over to see the ticket.” Our winner’s second shock of the day came right after his friend arrived.
“He looked at my ticket and noticed matches that I’d missed,” the winner said. “He showed me that my prize was $50,000, not $10,000!”
The windfall puts the Montgomery County man closer to opening a business that he’s dreamed about for years. “This really moves up the schedule I had in mind.”
He found his Lottery luck at 7-Eleven #23691 at 15585 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville. The Million Dollar Spectacular game has two $1 million top prizes still in stores as well as three more $50,000 winners.