ESSEX, MD—Shopping at a grocery store turned into a hot adventure for an Essex man as he won $50,000 on Hot 7s Tripler scratch-off.

He explained that after he purchased the ticket at the Essex Shoppers located at 1200 Eastern Avenue, he quickly got into his car, turned up the air-conditioning and scratched off his ticket.

“I saw I had the “autowin” symbol so I knew I had at least won my money back. Then I scratched underneath and I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said the Baltimore County resident, realizing he had won $50,000.

Next, he went to another Maryland Lottery retailer to scan his ticket.

“When I got home, I had to tell my wife to sit down,” he said with a smile.

The retired railroad worker said he and his wife live in a house built in the 1920s and they plan to use the money on house renovations to update the flooring and to replace outdated windows.