DUNDALK, MD—A Dundalk man who almost misplaced his $1,045,588 FAST PLAY Extreme Green progressive jackpot–winning ticket, visited Maryland Lottery headquarters on Monday to claim his big prize.

“At first when I got it, I went crazy,” the winner, going by the nickname “Extreme Green Dream” to tell his winning story. He was with a group of friends at Squire’s Restaurant at 6723 Holabird Avenue when he realized he had a million-dollar ticket in his hand, so his excitement tipped off all his friends to what had happened.

While enjoying the company of his buddies, “Extreme Green Dream” did something that is typical of his behavior, according to his wife.

On this occasion, the soon-to-be winner had been pondering the purchase of a $30 FAST PLAY ticket, but thought his wife might get irritated at such a large purchase. He scaled back and selected the $20 game Extreme Green. After the ticket printed, “I looked at it and my eyes rolled back in my head!” the winner said.

A Maryland Lottery regular, he said his previous personal best win was a $1,500 score on a Keno ticket.

A woman working at Squire’s gave him the good advice to immediately sign his winning ticket, and the winner then called his wife to report the fortuitous purchase.

“When he came home, he couldn’t find the ticket,” she recalled. In his frenetic state, he had left his wallet on the center console of his car, and eventually he figured that out.

The winner has no lifestyle changes in mind. Already comfortable in retirement, he works these days so he has something to do. That’s likely to continue, and he says he will keep on playing the Maryland Lottery, because he enjoys the thrill of it.

Photo via the Maryland Lottery