PARKVILLE, MD—A regular Maryland Lottery player from Parkville, who usually waits until late in the holiday season to buy holiday-themed scratch-offs, bought one early this year and ended up with a $50,000 prize.

“I was looking at them and the holidays are approaching, so I said, ‘Let’s get a holiday ticket,’” recalled the 69-year-old winner. He picked up the $5 game Holiday Ca$h.

After buying the ticket at Hamilton Quick Mart in Baltimore, the Baltimore County resident took his instant ticket home. A few hours later, he scratched off the ticket, following its simple instructions: reveal two holly leaves and win that prize. There in the top row of his ticket were two holly leaves over $50,000, the game’s top prize.

“I said, ‘No, this ain’t true!’” he recalled on November 1 when claiming his prize at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. It turned out, however, that he did win the first of the game’s eight $50,000 top prizes.

The player plans to make a family decision about how to spend the windfall, as well as where to go for a celebratory dinner. Meanwhile, he says he plans to keep playing scratch-offs as well as the rolling jackpot games, Powerball and Mega Millions.

“I love the Lottery!” he said.

Photo via Pexels