Lanham man played same number on 21 individual tickets
A 56-year-old Prince George’s County man was all smiles, for good reason, when he visited Lottery headquarters this week. The lucky Lottery player just won $1 million in Pick 5 prizes, having bought 21 individual winning tickets worth $50,000 each!
The big winner has played Pick 5 since the game began in February and does so, faithfully, every two weeks. Not only does he play, but each time he purchases 21 tickets all with the same number of 82466. He did just that on Oct. 14, placing a $1 straight bet on each ticket for the midday drawing. The lucky player was on a break from work when he stopped in Shady Grove Beer & Wine in Gaithersburg to buy his games.
“It’s my routine,” he said. “I go on break, get my tickets, then go back to work.”
However, this time, when he went back to work and checked one of the 21 tickets using the Lottery app on his phone, the Lanham resident was blown away. “I had to clear out my eyes,” he said, still smiling. “I thought I was seeing things.”
What the player saw was his special numbers and then a message saying, “Congratulations! $50,000 Winner.” And that was just one ticket, he had 20 more, each winning him $50,000 for a total of $1 million.
Recalling his disbelief, the supervisor of operations at a computer company said he told himself, “I know these are not my numbers. I had to go back to the retailer so they could confirm it for me.”
After his win was confirmed, the lucky player immediately called his wife to share the news. “I told her we can now pay off the house,” he said. “She was so happy.”
The winner also shared with Lottery officials that he plans to also pay off bills and maybe, down the road, look for his Lottery dream home. “I’m just thanking the universe,” he said. “It just shows if you put positivity out there, you’ll get positivity in return.”
His lucky retailer, Shady Grove Beer & Wine located at 15904 Shady Grove Road in Gaithersburg, will receive a $10,500 bonus from the Lottery for its role in selling 21 Pick 5 tickets worth $50,000. That’s a $500 bonus for each winning ticket.
This is a great month to play Pick 5. A Hall-O-WIN second-chance promotion runs through Nov. 1 and gives Pick 3/4/5 players a chance to win $10,000. Each $1 worth of tickets equals one second-chance drawing entry. Players enter winning or nonwinning tickets into the promotion through their My Lottery Rewards account. A drawing on Nov. 2 will award five lucky players prizes of $10,000 each! Get details HERE.
