DUNDALK, MD—A Baltimore County man said he nearly threw out his Maryland Lottery scratch-off because he didn’t realize it was a $100,000 top-prize winner.

The 73-year-old said he purchased a few instant tickets and scratched off a $10 winner. He thought the rest of the games in the pile were non-winners, ready to be tossed out. Before he does that, however, he likes to double-check his instant tickets by scanning them at a Maryland Lottery retailer.

According to the retiree, he saw his $10 scratch-off prize confirmed by the scanner. Then, he scanned the Bingo X10 game and the scanner message said, “Go to Lottery.” The Dundalk resident didn’t know what that meant so he took the scratch-off to the clerk at the store.

“She said to me, ‘You know what that means when you get that message.’ I started to get excited. Then, she checked it and told me that it was a $100,000 winner,” he explained.

The lucky player had somehow scratched off the instant ticket without noticing that he won. He added that he was so excited that the clerk told him to breathe and calm down. He said he plays scratch-offs once a month and prefers the extended-play games.

“I like the bingo and crossword games because they give me something to do,” he said.

The retired truck driver plans to use the $100,000 prize to pay off some bills and will continue to play scratch-offs.

He bought the winning ticket at the High’s store located at 6801 Broening Road in Dundalk.

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