“M and M Retirement Fund,” a couple from southern Frederick County, will be living a little larger, thanks to a $1 million Powerball win.
Buys ticket at Brunswick-area convenience store
He’s a regular when it comes to buying Powerball and Mega Millions tickets and his wife said she always figured he would win big someday because he’s lucky. She was right: the loyal player won $1 million in the April 8 Powerball drawing.
“[He] always seems to get the win,” said the wife half of “M and M Retirement Fund” on April 14 when they claimed the prize at Lottery headquarters. The two chose the moniker so they could remain anonymous and still tell their story of winning big. She added that whenever they go into a casino, or participate in games of chance, her husband often ends up on the plus side.
“We always expected to win, but not necessarily this much,” she said.
For the past six months, he has played the same five combinations in each Powerball drawing. The numbers came to him on a quick-pick ticket and he decided he liked the idea of playing the same numbers for every drawing. By the time of the April 8 drawing, the husband had bought replay tickets for quite some time.
“Apparently, I kept the right numbers,” he said.
Plugged into what’s going on in the community, the wife saw a post on social media about a Powerball ticket worth $1 million being sold by Sheetz #176 at 3842 Burkittsville Road in the Brunswick area community of Knoxville. She told him he should check his tickets, but her spouse was in a hurry to get to work so he delayed the task. Later in the day, he took his $10 ticket to a store and checked it on a ticket scanner. The scanner message directed him to take the ticket to Lottery headquarters.
“I still didn’t know how much I won,” he said. The happy player took a few minutes to check the winning numbers, realized he had won $1 million, and called his wife at work.
“I screamed at work,” she said, noting that her happy outcry was loud enough that her co-workers asked her about it.
They were still in disbelief when they claimed the prize. As their winner alias, “M and M Retirement Fund” implies, most of the windfall will be put away for retirement. They also planned to celebrate with a dinner out.
“We already travel a lot, so maybe we will upgrade to first class a few times,” the wife said. Meanwhile, the husband is also looking at buying a new car for his wife and making some needed home repairs.
As for future Lottery play, he says he is giving up on Powerball, figuring his chances of winning big again are slim. He’ll redouble his Mega Millions play. The estimated jackpot annuity for tonight’s drawing is $476 million with an estimated cash option of $256 million.
“I figure I’ve still got a shot,” he said, with his wife adding, “We may see you again soon!”
The Sheetz store that sold the winning Powerball ticket also shares in the couple’s good fortune. For selling a second-tier winning ticket, the Frederick store picks up a bonus of $2,500 from the Lottery.
