Claims $50,000 prize on Jackpot Party game
How often does the average person fill up the gas tank? Well, that’s just about how often an Eastern Shore accountant buys a Maryland Lottery ticket. His timing was lucky a week ago, when he saw that his tank was running low just as he neared an Annapolis 7-Eleven. The minutes that followed led to his biggest Lottery win ever — a $50,000 prize!
“Whenever I need to gas up the car, I do it at a station that sells tickets,” said the husband and father. “I usually buy scratch-off tickets and keep going until I win something, and then stop until next time.”
Fortunately for him, 7-Eleven #39502 at 161 Defense Highway in Annapolis was sold out of his favorite scratch-offs that day. “I’ve tried FAST PLAY games a few times in the past and, since I couldn’t find my lucky scratch-off, I figured I’d try them again.”
Reviewing the store’s FAST PLAY selection, the 33-year-old noticed the Jackpot Party game’s progressive jackpot was more than $100,000 and picked that $10 ticket.
“I saw a $10,000 match almost immediately and was stunned. Then, I saw another, and another and another.” Wanting to make sure the $50,000 prize was real, the Easton resident downloaded the Maryland Lottery app to get a conclusive answer.
“It was real. It was really $50,000, but part of me still thought that it couldn’t actually be true,” he said.
That doubt persisted well into the claiming process at Lottery headquarters. Later, in the Winner’s Circle, he told Lottery officials he finally was letting himself believe there was no small print that would take away his prize. The Talbot County resident and his wife plan to save their $50,000 Jackpot Party prize for their children’s education.
Jackpot Party has a progressive jackpot that increases with the sale of each ticket until someone buys a progressive jackpot winner. On Friday, the game’s progressive jackpot was climbing beyond $123,000. This game will close when the next progressive jackpot is hit but still has 57 $50,000 prizes awaiting discovery along with 71 unclaimed $10,000 prizes.
