A 76-year-old grandfather claimed a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 prize on Friday. He buys one Bonus Match 5 ticket and one Multi-Match ticket each day. On May 19th, his daily routine took a winning turn.
“I did nothing different on that day,” he said. “I went in, bought my tickets and went home.” The winner didn’t catch the drawing, but he checked the numbers the next day in the newspaper. He thought he had only won $5,000, but when he had a Lottery retailer scan the ticket, he found out it was worth much more. “It was very hard to believe,” said the big winner.
The retired DC police officer kept his win a secret from his wife of 52 years, his three children and his five grandchildren until he could claim his prize. “I wanted to collect the money before telling anyone,” the lucky player said.
The winner said he is going use his prize money toward bills and a vacation. He also volunteers with local children and will use some of the money to help with that effort. “I’ll let my wife figure out what to do with the rest,” he said with a chuckle. “You know how you women are.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Express Food Mart, located at 4901 Marlboro Pike in Capitol Heights.