A $250,000 Rich instant ticket caught the eye of a Nottingham last week as he waited to cash in a winning scratch-off from the previous day.

Although a frequent player, the 51-year-old had not played the game before or even seen it until that moment. The only Maryland Lottery superstition the warehouse worker holds is that when he sees a new scratch-off, he has to purchase it. Rarely has a superstition paid off to the tune of $250K.

“I saw it when I stopped for gas at the Perry Hall BP station,” the winner said of his lucky purchase. “I then headed to the grocery store and, before going in, I scratched off just the barcode, planning to scan it inside.”

The message he received when he did scan the $10 instant ticket set him back on his heels.

“It was telling me to take it to the Maryland Lottery counter, so I thought it might be a winner.” He then hesitated. “A friend saw a similar message once and there was some problem with the ticket. It wasn’t a winner. I wanted to be sure.”

A short while later at home, the man scratched off the entire instant ticket. “When I saw the match for $250,000, I was stunned. ‘It finally happened,’ I thought to myself.”

He called his wife with the momentous news and was met with disbelief. It wasn’t the “this is unreal” kind of joyful disbelief, but the real thing. It turns out that our winner plays practical jokes on his wife from time to time. It wasn’t until the win was confirmed at Maryland Lottery headquarters that she believed his luck had arrived.

The couple shared that just two weeks ago, they had completed their taxes and discovered they owed money.

“That was an unhappy surprise,” the winner said. “But this surprise makes it all okay.”

His visit to Perry Hall BP brought the $250,000 prize into their lives in time to pay that tax bill and others, send them on a vacation and enable them to help family members.

Also celebrating is the lucky retailer. Perry Hall BP at 8809 Belair Road in Perry Hall earns a $1,000 bonus for selling a top-prize winning scratch-off valued at $250,000.