Sparrows Point Couple Celebrating $50,000 Bonus Match 5 Win

Change in routine to use quick-pick feature leads to Lottery luck

A Sparrows Point couple who won $50,000 playing the Maryland Lottery’s Bonus Match 5 game say their windfall is a welcome surprise that will help them care for an adult special-needs child.

“We’re going to stick it in the bank,” said the 56-year-old wife. The pair claimed the game’s top prize on July 28 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

The husband is the more frequent Lottery player, and generally uses a set of personal numbers. The wife typically plays jackpot games when the prizes reach high levels.

On July 24, the husband was at Ben’s Edgemere Liquors at 7000 North Point Road in Sparrows Point when he decided to buy half a dozen Bonus Match 5 games. He made a $4 purchase, because one of the bonus features of the game is that the more sets of numbers you buy, the bigger the discount. A single set is $1, but three sets cost $2, four sets cost $3, six sets cost $4, seven sets cost $5 and nine cost $6. Instead of playing his personal sets of numbers, the husband let the terminal quick pick his numbers and that decision played a role in his big win.

That night, the fifth of the six number sets on the ticket matched the first five balls drawn. When the husband checked the ticket, he discovered Lottery luck had come his way and brought home a receipt showing the amount of the win.

“He came in and gave me the voucher, and I said, ‘Yeah, right,’” the wife said. After he explained the ticket really was a $50,000 winner, their celebration began.

Picking up a standard Maryland Lottery bonus on the lucky sale is the retailer, Ben’s Edgemere Liquors. The Baltimore County business receives $500, equal to 1 percent of the prize, for selling a top-prize winning Bonus Match 5 ticket.