Numbers finally go his way in Bonus Match 5
After eight years of methodically playing the Maryland Lottery’s Bonus Match 5 game without a major win, a single dad is all smiles. The tired technician got home from work the night of Thursday, June 6, and wearily checked his Bonus Match 5 numbers as he always does. However, this night, for the first time ever, all of the numbers matched!
“I had to read the ticket five or six times,” the Landover Hills man said. “I couldn’t believe it!”
He has played other games – Pick 3, Pick 4 and Multi-Match – but Bonus Match 5 “is my favorite,” he said. “I’ve won over the years, but I would hit four numbers and miss by one.”
He didn’t mark this win by jumping up and down, whooping or hollering. Instead, he quietly signed the ticket, folded it up, tucked it back into his wallet and didn’t tell a soul about his luck until he arrived at Lottery headquarters Friday morning.
“I didn’t sleep too well,” the compressed natural gas technician said. “I was too excited.”
His happiness hit a new high when he heard he won $52,000. He couldn’t wait to tell his daughter, a high school junior, and his son, a seventh grader. They were sleeping in, enjoying their first day of summer vacation, when their father quietly left the house. He planned to go straight home to tell his children and his sister about his fabulous fortune.
He’s worked hard to make ends meet since his wife died six years ago and plans to spend his winnings on bills and paying off his car. He’ll add to the children’s college fund and put the rest of the money into his savings account. He also plans to keep playing Bonus Match 5 at his favorite retailer.
The Stop 4 All Food Mart at 4606 68th Avenue in Landover Hills sold him the lucky ticket.