Glen Burnie man claims $50,000 prize on VIP CLUB scratch-off
Uber drivers’ vehicles are essential to their livelihood. Performing regular vehicle maintenance, such as oil changes, pays off, but not usually in the big way it paid off for a Glen Burnie Uber driver. His oil change lead him to a $50,000 scratch-off prize.
“I play Lottery very rarely,” said the husband and father. “My wife, however, really enjoys the scratch-off tickets.”
While having the car’s oil changed a few weeks ago, the 35-year-old took a walk. He told Lottery officials, “It was a nice afternoon and I’d been in the car since early in the morning, so it was nice to get out into the sun.” It wasn’t long before the driver noticed a Lottery sign at a gas station. “When I saw it, I thought of getting two tickets for us to play that night.”
Having heard his wife talk about a $30 game, the Anne Arundel County resident picked out two of the first such scratch-offs he saw. This is how a VIP Club instant ticket worth $50,000 found its way from the Lansdowne Citgo, located at 2810 Hammonds Ferry Road in Baltimore, to the living room of his grateful Glen Burnie family.
“We each scratched a ticket after dinner,” he said. “Hers was not a winner and when I saw what mine showed, neither of us could believe it.” It took a trip to a nearby Lottery retailer first thing the next morning to convince him that the $50,000 winning scratch-off was real. As for his wife? “She still doesn’t believe!”
The Uber driver earned a mechanical engineering degree in his central African homeland. He plans to spend some of his winnings to update his education so he can get a job using his degree. The bulk of the prize, though, will go into the family savings account. “My wife and I are firm believers in saving for the future, for our baby’s future,” he said.
The $30 VIP Club instant game debuted in February. Four of its $2 million top prizes are still in circulation along with six more $50,000 second-tier prizes.
