Retired Construction Worker Builds New Powerball Fortune
A retired construction worker is building a new future after his $150,000 Powerball win in the Jan. 3 drawing.
The excited Prince Frederick man, who claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters this week, bought his lucky Quick-Pick ticket at Spirits of Calvert in Prince Frederick. He headed to the store right after dinner on the night of the drawing to try his luck. The 67-year-old said the store clerk inadvertently charged him for the Power Play feature—an error in his favor, as it turned out. "After I saw the mistake, I figured I'd just keep the ticket anyway," the winner, who elected to remain anonymous to the public, said.
Several weeks went by and the forgotten ticket remained buried in his wallet. When the loyal player spotted it one day, he returned to Spirits of Calvert at 73 Sherry Lane to check his ticket against the Jan. 3 winning numbers. Those numbers were 2, 18, 37, 39, 42 and Powerball 12 with a 3x Power Play multiplier.
"When the clerk told me I was a big winner, I thought I had only won about $40 or $50," he said. "Can you imagine my shock when he told me that my ticket was too much for him to cash? I was floored."
The happy winner plans to buy a new house with his wife of 40 years. "This is such a blessing for us," he said. "We've wanted to buy a house to call home for a few years. We'll be able to, now, with this Powerball win."
Friends Share $50,000 Winnings from Cash Explosion Scratch-off
Two loyal Maryland Lottery scratch-off players who are good friends happily split a $50,000 prize discovered on a Cash Explosion instant ticket they bought together.
The 83-year-old Calvert County resident and his friend from Prince George's County, both of whom elected to remain anonymous to the public, stopped at Town Center Amoco in Dunkirk on the day they found their lucky scratch-off. The duo usually buys instant tickets at the same time. On the day they found Lottery luck, the pair decided to change their routine and split the $20 cost of one instant ticket. The 52-year-old homemaker let her friend select the game.
Her veteran friend picked the Cash Explosion game, which offers over one million prizes from $20 to $500 and a $1 million top prize. Before leaving the store, the Suitland woman scratched off the game's prize check box and scanned it. The instant ticket checker revealed that the game was a big winner! Because they didn't know the size of their prize, the happy players scratched off the entire instant ticket. Their celebration began when the $50,000 prize appeared!
The Calvert County scratch-off fan remembers shaking his head, saying, "I cannot believe it, we won!" As for the Suitland woman, she began dancing with delight! One player plans to spend the prize and the other will put the winnings into savings.
The lucky retailer who sold the duo the winning ticket is Town Center Amoco located at 10855 Town Center Boulevard in Dunkirk. Plenty of unclaimed prizes remain in this game, including five top prizes of $1 million, 10 more $50,000 prizes and 44 $10,000 prizes.
Family Feud Scratch-off Win Has Retiree Celebrating
A Waldorf retiree having coffee with his friends at their local gathering place sweetened his day by adding fun and games to his beverage purchase. The 69-year-old, who elected to remain anonymous to the public, bought four Maryland Lottery Family Feud scratch-offs and won $50,000!
"I usually do not play scratch offs," said the lucky winner. "I am a Pick 3 and Pick 4 kind of guy." He plays his regular numbers daily and plays random numbers when the mood hits him. On his lucky morning, the Charles County resident won $5 on the first instant ticket and the top prize of $50,000 on the second one!
"I really never thought I could win $50,000 on a scratch-off!" said the happy winner. "I will enjoy being retired with this extra cash on hand."
He always purchases his Pick 3 and Pick 4 tickets from the same retailer, Charles Station located at 3030 St. Charles Parkway in Waldorf. The Charles County Lottery retailer wins, too, for selling a winning top-prize scratch-off in the $5 game. Charles Station earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery.
The Family Feud game, which launched in April 2017, still has two $50,000 top prizes remaining and thousands of other prizes ranging from $5 to $5,000.