Prince George’s County man sees win as a ‘gift’ for his family
“The $4 cash in my pocket is what did it,” said a Ft. Washington resident, describing the events that produced his $50,000 Powerball win last week. The cash-strapped Uber driver, who spent more and more time away from home in recent months, described his big win as a real gift for his family.
The story begins at Oxon Hill Liquors at 6369 Livingston Road in Oxon Hill. Our 47-year-old winner stopped by the store to check a month-old Powerball ticket he’d discovered in his briefcase.
“It was a $6 winner, which I was about to put in my wallet. But then I found $4 in my pocket.” The ticket had cost him $10 to play, so his winnings plus the money in his pocket would allow him to play the same numbers again. “I decided to replay the ticket,” he said.
The player replayed the $10 ticket for the Sept. 7 drawing and went on his way.
Back in the same area over the weekend, the Prince George’s County man stopped by his lucky store again – and got even luckier. “When I scanned the ticket, it told me to take it to the Lottery. I’d never seen that before.”
He drove home and checked the Sept. 7 drawing results. “I saw the matching numbers on my ticket and couldn’t believe they added up to $50,000,” he told Lottery officials. “I called my wife in to tell her. We sat in stunned silence for five solid minutes.”
The couple is relieved since learning of their win. “This gives us a little breathing room. We’re still struggling financially, but I no longer have to work shift after shift. We’ll be able to spend more time together.”
The winner was the only Marylander to claim a third-tier prize in the drawing and he was one of six nationwide to do so. The jackpot is still on a roll, with an estimated jackpot annuity of $206 million for the Wednesday, Sept. 14 drawing, with an estimated cash option of $112.4 million.
