BALTIMORE, MD—Five loyal Maryland Lottery players who work together in Baltimore will long remember Christmas Day 2023 when they found success playing Multi-Match, the Maryland Lottery’s in-state rolling jackpot game. On Christmas Day, they hit the Multi-Match jackpot that carried an annuity of $540,000.

The game has a similar appeal to the multistate jackpot games of Mega Millions and Powerball but the odds are better, the leader of the group said. Players have a 1 in 2 million chance of winning the jackpot on a single line of a $2 Multi-Match ticket while Mega Millions’ jackpot-winning odds are 1 in 302 million and Powerball’s jackpot-winning odds are 1 in 292 million.

The co-workers come from different areas, with two from Baltimore City, two from Baltimore County, and one from Anne Arundel County. The group leader shared that none of them had won a big prize before but all enjoy playing weekly as a team. He bought their $2 quick-pick ticket at The News Stand, located at 6901 Security Boulevard in Windsor Mill, nearly a week before the drawing.

When he later scanned the ticket at a Maryland Lottery retailer, he “didn’t believe it” until a store employee confirmed the jackpot win. “It said, ‘Take to retailer,’” the ticket buyer said so he gave the ticket to a store employee to scan. “When he turned the screen around and showed me the amount, I lost it for a minute but I kept my cool,” the player said.

The leader immediately shared the great news with a few of the group members, who told Maryland Lottery officials they assumed he was “playing a joke on them.” The next Monday, the leader of the group arrived at work and showed them their jackpot-winning ticket in person.

Asked if they have plans for their windfall, the co-workers say they will use their share of the prize to get ahead on their bills. Two of the winners added that they may splurge on a vacation when it gets warm.

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