An Elkton, Md., man said he used some winnings from scratch-off lottery tickets to buy his first-ever $30 ticket, and he ended up winning a $100,000 jackpot. Photo courtesy of the Maryland Lottery
Nov. 19 (UPI) — A Maryland man took a chance on his first $30 scratch-off ticket and won a $100,000 prize — although he didn’t realize it right away.
The 28-year-old Elkton man told Maryland Lottery officials he frequently plays lottery games, but had never bought a $30 scratch-off ticket until he took some winning tickets back to claim small prizes at Redner’s Warehouse Markets #59 in Elkton.
The man said he decided to reinvest some of his winnings into more tickets.
“I bought a bunch of tickets, but I never tried a $30 scratch-off,” the player recalled. “So, I went ahead and bought one of those, too.”
The man said he started to scratch his tickets off in his car, but eventually got tired of scratching and decided to just scan the tickets’ barcodes inside the store.
“There were no winners,” he said, “but then, I scanned the $30 ticket.”
The player said he was confused when the scanner displayed a message telling him to take the ticket to lottery headquarters. The man said he asked the clerk to take a look at the ticket, but she told him the prize was too big for her to cash.
“I thought it was $10,000, but she whispered that it was $100,000,” he said. “I went to my car and cried for 10 minutes before calling my father.”
The man said his prize money will allow him to pay off some debts, including those on the home he shares with his father.