A lucky Maryland Lottery player from Baltimore endured a particularly long Thanksgiving holiday weekend after purchasing two Mega Millions tickets with the Megaplier option for the Friday, Nov. 23 drawing.
When the winning numbers came up, the 38-year-old had four of five regular balls plus the 23 Mega Ball on one line of his ticket. He landed the Mega Ball on the second line, too. The Megaplier for that night was 4, so his decision to add that option to his ticket quadrupled his prize to $40,008.
“I just couldn’t wait until this morning,” said the city employee on Monday, Nov. 26, after claiming his winning ticket. He was the only Marylander to win the third-tier $10,000 prize in the drawing and one of 11 players nationwide to do so.
The casual player, who tries his luck with the big jackpot games as well as Pick 3, Pick 4 and Bonus Match 5, said this win won’t change his life. He joked, “It’s enough for Christmas!” In addition to holiday shopping, the city resident plans to pay bills with his prize and possibly pay off his car. He also might take a trip to a Walt Disney World theme park or a local theme park with his niece and nephew.
His philosophy about winning: “When it’s your time, it’s your time!”
The lucky fellow bought his ticket at the Shell gas station at 1711 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. No one hit the jackpot in Friday’s drawing, so players can try their luck winning the $172 million jackpot in the Nov. 27 drawing.