Wins Second-Chance Contest Grand Prize
When John Taggart walked into his house yesterday, his son Randy was yelling and screaming at him, saying, “The Maryland Lottery called for you! Call them back!” At that point, John had no idea what to expect when he returned the Lottery official’s call. “When I was told I’d won $250,000, I nearly passed out.”
John mailed in five entries for the Maryland Lottery’s Medal Madness promotion and was selected out of just over 75,000 entries. With his winnings, the 52-year-old plans to pay bills and take a trip out west to visit family.
“At first I thought someone was playing a joke on me,” said John. “But, now that it’s real, this is definitely life-changing.” The win came as an early anniversary gift for John and his wife Linda who will be celebrating 22 years of marriage next month.
The Medal Madness promotion ran from January 25th through February 28th. Players randomly received the words Gold, Silver, or Bronze on their tickets and after collecting all three words, they were mailed in to the Lottery. A total of 103 winners were selected to receive prizes ranging from $1,000 up to $250,000. Other winners besides John include Melissa Johnson from California, MD who won $50,000, Theresa Gasker from Sparrows Point who won $25,000 and 100 Lottery players who won $1,000 each.