Player made Maryland Lottery history with big win
A Washington, D.C. man entered a Silver Spring market on the morning of April 15 to relax and play some scratch-offs. Making history by winning the third-largest progressive jackpot in Maryland Lottery FAST PLAY history wasn’t on the agenda.
In fact, playing any of the Lottery’s 21 FAST PLAY games wasn’t even on his mind until intuition or Lady Luck gave him a nudge. He paid attention and won $849,830!
“I was playing scratchers,” said the father of one, “and something told me to buy two of the (FAST PLAY) Hit the Jackpots!” He bought two of the $20 games and followed his play routine. First, he scans the ticket’s prize check area and carefully looks at the scanner’s screen for a “Congratulations” message. If he sees that word, he doesn’t look any closer at the scanner to see how much he won. Instead, he plays the game to discover his prize. “I like to surprise myself,” he said.
The first ticket he scanned was not a winner. When a “Congratulations” message popped up on the scanner for the second ticket, he carefully examined all four games on the ticket. His big win was in Game 4, where he matched the winning number “14” and found the words “Progressive Jackpot” beneath the number.
The Hit the Jackpot! game has a progressive jackpot that starts at $250,000 and grows with the sale of each ticket until a progressive jackpot-winner is sold. The prize on the April 15 ticket is the third-largest ever in Maryland’s FAST PLAY games, following a pair of Diamond Mine tickets — a $2.6 million winner sold Oct. 21, 2021 by Pulaski Liquor Emporium in Baltimore and a $922,144 winner sold March 7, 2021 by Royal Farms #028 in Annapolis. FAST PLAY games were introduced in February 2020.
The winner quietly left State Line Market in Silver Spring and dropped off the ticket with his mom for safekeeping. She hid it until they could claim the prize at Lottery headquarters.
Describing the money as a blessing, the winner — who lives and works in Washington, D.C. — said he is giving the prize to his mother, who will help decide how to share it with their family. Buying vehicles for her sons may be the top priorities, she said. “We’re still digesting the news,” added the Washington, D.C. woman. “We can’t believe it.”
They are not the only ones to benefit from the big win. For its role in selling a progressive jackpot-winning ticket, State Line Market located at 7817 Eastern Avenue in Silver Spring earns a bonus of $849.83 from the Lottery. The bonus is equal to 1% of the prize.
