A White Elephant gift exchange gave a $77,777 Lucky 7s Multiplier win to St. Mary’s County resident and holiday party host Joshua Hill.
Imagine hosting a festive holiday party and playing the popular White Elephant game, then walking away with $77,777 as your gift. Well, it happened to a St. Mary’s County man when his gift was a winning $10 Lucky 7s Multiplier scratch-off.
Joshua Hill was hosting the holiday party at his home in the St. Mary’s County community of Avenue with his wife a few weeks ago when they played the gift exchange game. White Elephant is a party game where guests bring wrapped gifts, then take turns opening them or “stealing” someone else’s gift. They continue the swap until all gifts are given out.
Joshua had his initial gift “stolen” and had to pick from the remaining gifts. His choice? A bottle of Crown Royal wearing a beanie on top submitted by his wife’s uncle. But little did he know, hidden beneath the beanie was that Lucky 7s Multiplier ticket. Not a big Lottery player, Joshua put his gift aside and continued with the holiday festivities. A week and half later, his win was revealed.
“My wife was home and decided to scratch the game,” he said. “When she scanned it, it said $77,777. she was shocked!”
She called him and said, “Babe, I think you won $77,777.” Upon hearing the news, he immediately headed home to confirm.
“When I saw that $77,777 come across my phone, I had to open that Jack and take a shot,” said Joshua. He and his wife called family members to share the incredible story and to get the news to the uncle who donated the $77,777 prize.
“He was happy for us,” said Joshua.
The facility operations specialist and cabinet shop owner said he knew he needed to claim the prize right away.
“I’ve won small amounts on scratch-offs before and I’ll put them up and forget about them until they expire,” he smiled. “I wasn’t about to let that happen with this ticket.”
When visiting Lottery headquarters to claim the prize on Dec. 29, a bewildered Joshua said he had no immediate plans for his White Elephant surprise gift. For now, he said the $77,777 will go into the bank.
Also celebrating the win is the St. Mary’s County retailer that sold the winning ticket: Captain Sam’s Liquors at 22664 Colton Point Road in Bushwood will receive a $777.77 bonus.
Joshua claimed the 11th $77,777 top prize on the Lucky 7s Multiplier scratch-off game. Another six remain unclaimed. In addition, there are 11 prizes at the second tier $10,000 level waiting to be found as well as numerous prizes ranging from $10 to $1,000.
