ESSEX, MD—An Essex man was minding his own business, enjoying the Ravens game on a recent Sunday at a neighborhood establishment, when something stole his attention from the TV screen. Was it a friend? Perhaps it was a fellow Ravens fan sharing the excitement of a touchdown? Nope. It was none other than Lady Luck herself, appearing, coincidentally, in the form of a Lady Luck scratch-off and bringing $250,000 with her.

“Very little surprises me in life anymore,” the power plant employee told Maryland Lottery officials, “but I was absolutely floored. Still am.” The Baltimore County resident had purchased three of the $10 Lady Luck instant tickets at Tempo Lounge, located at 402 Back River Neck Road in Essex, a few minutes before his big win during a break in the NFL action.

“No luck on one, $10 on the next, and then….” When he told the bartender what had happened, she refused to believe it. “She ran my Lady Luck through the terminal, blinked once and then came around the bar to give me a hug.”

Before long, the whole place had heard the news.

“It was a madhouse, everyone was congratulating me. It got pretty loud in there.”

The Lady Luck game arrived on retailers’ shelves in September. The game has so far shared three of its five $250,000 top-prize winning scratch-offs with players. Four $20,000 second-tier prizes and 23 $10,000 prizes also remain in circulation.

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