BALTIMORE (Aug. 4, 2016)—Playing Maryland Lottery games is a fun hobby of a Calvert County man who spends his working hours delivering equipment for a machinery business. Although he always dreamed of the day when he would win big, the 60-year-old never expected that day to really arrive.
"Thrilled" and "stunned" were two words the North Beach resident used to describe his reaction to winning the $50,000 top prize in the Aug. 2 Bonus Match 5 drawing.
"I play your jackpot games every week, Mega Millions, Powerball, Multi-Match and Cash4Life, as well as Bonus Match 5," he reported. "I almost never miss a day. It's fun to imagine what we'd do with the cash if we ever won."
On his way to work on Aug. 2, the lucky player picked up his game tickets at Twin Beach Convenient Mart in Chesapeake Beach. He went about his day and checked his Mega Millions and Bonus Match 5 tickets the next morning.
"I scanned my Bonus Match 5 ticket and saw a message I hadn't seen before," he said. "The cashier told me that I'd won at least $5,000. I was stunned!"
He stepped outside, where his wife was enjoying a morning stroll with friends, and called her over. "I told her that I was pretty sure that we'd won serious money, but didn't know just how much. She took the ticket home to check the numbers while I went to work."
The Calvert County woman quickly confirmed the $50,000 win using the Lottery's website. The shocked couple arrived at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim their prize an hour or so later.
"Everything we were looking at told us it was a $50,000 winner, but I refused to believe it until the Lottery told us it was official," he said. "I just had to know. Now, I know and we're thrilled. What a gift from above."
The couple elected to remain anonymous.
Their winnings will pay off several long-standing bills, he said. Twin Beach Convenient Mart at 8426 Bayside Road is also a winner. For selling the top-prize ticket in the game, the Calvert County retailer receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery.