Hagerstown man wins $10,000 playing Mega Millions
Although playing Maryland Lottery jackpot games is routine for a loyal Hagerstown fan, winning five-figure prizes is not! The lucky man just claimed a $10,000 prize in the Jan. 18 Mega Millions drawing.
Persistence paid off for the winner, who said he routinely buys a ticket for each of the twice-weekly drawings of Powerball and Mega Millions. “I told him he was silly until this happened,” said his girlfriend, who accompanied the winner to Lottery headquarters to claim his prize.
The 64-year-old likes to purchase tickets at different retailers throughout Maryland. After realizing he did not have a ticket for the Jan. 18 Mega Millions drawing, the player went to the closest Lottery retailer and bought a $2 quick-pick ticket. “You can’t win if you don’t have a ticket,” he said. The savvy player found Lottery luck waiting at AC&T #140 at 724 Frederick Street in Hagerstown.
He and his girlfriend scanned the ticket on her smartphone the following day to see if the ticket carried any luck. This time, the words “Sorry, try again” did not appear on the screen, he said. They saw a message to contact the retailer. “I said, ‘That’s worth some money,’ ” the winner recalled.
A Lottery retailer scanned the ticket for them and confirmed the $10,000 prize. The Washington County resident plans to spend his winnings on a front door replacement. He also plans to spend some of the prize on his girlfriend.
Both jackpots continue to roll, giving players two big drawings this weekend. The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday, Feb. 22, is $224 million and the Powerball jackpot for Saturday, Feb. 23 is $304 million.