A hotel employee enjoyed a $1 million Maryland Lottery scratch-off win after following the sound advice of parents of school-age children — do your homework! A little research using the Lottery’s website set the Silver Spring resident on the path to become the state’s newest millionaire.
“I did my homework,” said the 29-year-old husband and father. “I love scratch-offs, so I check the website to see which ones have several top prizes still available.” His lucky $20 instant ticket choice, Monopoly, listed all three of its $1 million top prizes as unclaimed when he checked the website. That game became his focus. “I probably get at least one ticket every day, so every time I went to the store, I looked for Monopoly.”
A stop for gas in Landover put him in the station’s attached convenience store at the exact right time to find his million-dollar winning scratch-off. “I bought four tickets. The first two were not winners, the third was for $25 and the last one, well, that was a shock.”
The $1 million top-prize win left the Montgomery County man nervous, a condition that persisted through the next day’s visit to Lottery headquarters. “I’m not sure why I felt that way, it was just such a weird, amazing thing to happen. I didn’t know how to react. I still don’t.”
The only plans the happy winner has for his Monopoly prize right now are paying bills and taking care of his family. “Getting rid of debt will be a big thing for us, but my family – my children’s education, their futures – being taken care of is a wonderful relief.”
Landover Hills Exxon at 6579 Annapolis Road in Landover was the previous home of the top-prize winning Monopoly ticket. The station owner’s hospitality will earn the business a $1,000 bonus from the lottery for selling the top-prize scratch-off in the game. Monopoly still features two unclaimed $1 million winners.