Bus driver William Franklin's favorite field trip was to Lottery headquarters to pick up his $50,000 Deluxe Crossword prize. (Photo courtesy Md. Lottery)BALTIMORE (October 18, 2017)—An astonishing weekend left retired short-haul trucker William Franklin short of words except where it counted—on his Maryland Lottery Deluxe Crossword scratch-off. That's because the 67-year-old Waldorf resident's game contained six red words and delivered a $50,000 top prize!
Although retired, William likes to stay busy and drives a bus for field trips, weddings and other functions. He relaxes by playing extended-play scratch-offs. Last weekend, the Charles County resident selected the $5 Deluxe Crossword scratch-off from Lady's Liquors in La Plata and on Sunday began to piece together words on the puzzles using his allocated letters. William assembled six words, which the prize legend told him meant a whopping $50,000 prize!
After checking the ticket nearly 30 times, the lucky winner shared his great news with his wife. "I considered keeping it a secret until later, but, like a bad refrigerator, I can't keep anything," he said.
William has several plans for his prize, including paying off his new car, taking his wife on a shopping spree and adding to their savings.
The Deluxe Crossword ticket debuted in March and has two $50,000 top prizes remaining. Players can hunt for thousands of other unclaimed prizes in the game that range from $5 to $10,000.
His lucky Lottery retailer is also a winner. For selling a top-prize winning scratch-off in the game, Lady's Liquors earned a $500 bonus from the Lottery.