BALTIMORE, MD—There’s a first time for everything – including winning a big lottery prize. A Parkville bartender discovered this first-hand while trying the Maryland Lottery’s Racetrax game for the first time, winning a $40,044 prize.

The 22-year-old bartender told Maryland Lottery officials that he was hanging out with a friend at the Parkton Casa Mia’s and watching the virtual horseraces taking place on the monitors above the bar. He asked his friend how the game worked and how to place a bet before trying it himself.

“I picked three horses for a trifecta box randomly. I also played the bonus. I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what I was doing because when I looked up and saw the odds, I figured I didn’t have a very good chance of winning,” said the player.

The race went off and his horses were trailing behind before surging towards the finish line on the final turn, the numbered horses finishing 12, 7, 3. The odds of the finish, just one in 5,000.

After the initial excitement of the win, he scanned his ticket using the scanning function on the Maryland Lottery mobile app, and was surprised by what he saw. The amount was much larger than he expected.

“I thought I had won something like $800, but the prize flashing back on the screen was a $40,044 prize,” said the winner.

The recent graduate told Maryland Lottery officials that the prize is a welcome windfall, explaining that the prize will help him to pay off student loans and other expenses while he looks for a career position in his field of study.

The lucky ticket was purchased at Casa Mia’s restaurant located at 17417 York Road in Parkton.

Photo via Pexels