BALTIMORE (February 02, 2018)—A loyal fan of Mega Millions and Powerball who enjoys playing his games at two Maryland Lottery retailers in Upper Marlboro got quite a jolt when he checked his Mega Millions quick-pick ticket from the Jan. 26 drawing.
Instead of telling the military retiree how much his ticket was worth, the ticket scanner directed him to see a store employee. When the Upper Marlboro resident did that, the store employee was stumped when the same message popped up. "I asked him to print out the winning numbers and he did," the winner said. They took a close look at the numbers and his ticket before deciding he won $10,000 and that his decision to add the Megaplier option to his ticket had quadrupled his prize.
"We were figuring $40,000 but we weren't sure," the winner said. On Sunday, he worked the math, even trying to figure out the taxes on his prize until he was convinced the biggest win of his life had finally arrived. The married father of two told his wife not to celebrate until he could claim his prize and get the money in hand. "Then we'll celebrate," he told her.
The loyal player, who elected to remain anonymous to the public, arrived at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore and marched into the Winner's Circle with a smile on his face because the party could finally begin! He plans to pay down his car loan with the prize, "spend a little bit and invest a little bit."
The 54-year-old found his Lottery luck at Marlboro Liquors located at 5725 Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro. Our winner was the only Marylander to win a third-tier prize in the Jan. 26 Mega Millions drawing, and one of 12 players in the nation to do so. No one hit the jackpot, which rolled to $89 million for the Tuesday, Jan. 30 drawing.