A working parttime student from western Howard County is pondering buying a vehicle and moving into his own place after winning a $32,138 progressive jackpot on the Maryland Lottery’s $3 SLINGO® FAST PLAY game.
That said, he hadn’t given much thought to his plans for the winnings because he was still a little in doubt about having won until he claimed the prize Dec. 22 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, his mom at his side.
The player was on his way to work the day before claiming and decided to stop at the High’s convenience store at 708 Lisbon Center Drive in Lisbon and pick up two Lottery tickets. He carefully played a $5 scratch-off and determined it was a non-winner. By the time he turned his focus to his FAST PLAY game, he needed to focus on getting to work, so he just scanned it on the vending machine to see if it was a winner.
He was surprised to get a message saying to take the ticket to the Lottery.
“I figured it must be more than $1,000,” he said. But he was in a hurry, so he stashed the ticket in his pocket and headed to work. The thought of the message, however, nagged at him. He’s won prizes in the past, with the biggest mostly in the $50 to $100 range, and a few at the $500 level, so having to take the ticket to the Lottery to cash out was a new one on him.
After about an hour at work, he got a moment of free time, took the ticket to a private spot and looked more closely at it. He marked the game with a pencil, then realized, “It’s the top prize!”
“He called his mom,” his mom smiled, adding, “I’m one of the few people who know!”
Mom, an occasional Lottery player, urged caution and neither allowed themselves to get too excited. It’s not a life-changing sum, but it is a nice prize and it’ll come in handy. Now that they’ve made the claim and are assured the prize is real, planning can begin in earnest.
Also benefitting is the High’s store that sold the winning ticket, which receives a bonus of $321.38.
