BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Lottery officials say winning $50,000 scratch-off tickets were sold in Middle River and Joppa over the past week.

Essex Man Takes a Seat after $50,000 Scratch-off Win

Was it the fact he bought the Cash Money scratch-off after work instead of before work that made a difference or was it just pure luck? The loyal Essex player doesn’t know but he’s sure happy he stopped at his favorite Lottery retailer that day. He won a $50,000 top prize.

The environmental services employee for a federal agency typically visits Beer Pump Wine & Spirits, located at 3 Compass Road in Middle River, on the way to work each morning to buy scratch-offs and coffee.

“I buy four at a time every day,” he said, looking over at his wife in the Winner’s Circle. “She doesn’t know that, but I do.” The couple laughed together as he described his scratch-off routine.

For a reason that he cannot recall, the scratch-off fan stopped at his favorite Lottery retailer after work one day and bought four Cash Money games. The 52-year-old took the games home to play. His wife and daughter were leaving to run errands when he arrived. About five minutes later, the Baltimore County resident revealed a $50,000 top prize on one of the games and had to sit down on the steps in the hallway.

“He called and said, ‘I need you to come back,’” the wife recalled. She disliked not knowing why she was asked to change plans so her reply was,

“What is it?” He insisted she simply return home and wouldn’t give a reason. “I didn’t want you to get nervous driving,” he confessed as they sat in the Lottery Winner’s Circle. She left her teenage daughter waiting in the car, came inside and found him sitting on the steps.

“I said, ‘You need to look at this,’” the husband recalled. “It finally happened.”

Once she found her glasses and realized he was correct about the scratch-off, the two celebrated.

“We hugged for almost 20 minutes,” the husband said. He plans to invest some of the prize in the stock market and put the rest into savings.

This win was his first big prize, but the loyal player vows “it’s not the last!”

Pumping Gas for Wife Results in $50,000 Payday for Joppa Man

A Harford County resident credits his wife’s unusual request to fill up her vehicle with gas for helping him win $50,000 on a Ca$h Multiplier scratch-off.

Her request was sparked by news that a bad storm was approaching the area, he said. “My wife asked me to get gas, but she never asks me to get her gas. It was the strangest thing.”

After the 63-year-old finished pumping gas at Sheetz, located at 601 Pulaski Highway in Joppa, he decided to go inside to purchase a few scratch-offs. The Joppa man discovered he won $5 and then $10, so he cashed in those instant tickets to buy more scratch-offs.

“I don’t like playing with my own money, but I decided to play with the extra money that I had won,” said the Harford County resident.

Our lucky winner had the number 9 and matched it with the winning number 9. The prize was listed at $5,000 but he had a cash multiplier of 10X, which boosted the prize to $50,000.

“I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I couldn’t believe it. I am very humbled,” the winner said.

The loyal player is still undecided on how he will spend his windfall.

Photo via Pexels