Lucky license plate digits deliver $50,000 Pick 5 win
When he saw his license plate numbers in the results of a recent Pick 5 drawing, a Harford County man told Lottery officials that he figured he’d missed his chance for a big win. He was wrong! Just over a week later, a Pick 5 winning number he played based on different license plate numbers sent him to Lottery headquarters to claim a $50,000 prize.
“It was killing me that I’d missed out on my plate,” the warehouse manager explained. “So, I decided to play my wife’s tag numbers.” He tells us that he is a big fan of the Lottery’s daily Pick games.
Not long after the lucky midday drawing, the winner checked the results on his Maryland Lottery app. He recognized the numbers immediately, but couldn’t remember the exact order of his wife’s license plate numbers. “I was pretty sure right away that I had a Boxed win for $10,000.” To win playing one’s Pick game numbers “boxed” requires only that all numbers be correct, but not necessarily in the exact order as those drawn. His ticket, however, was a $1 straight bet.
“I thought that maybe I had the order right, too, but wasn’t sure until I found the darn ticket. Those few minutes before locating it were torture.”
Happily, the Harford County man had the correct five numbers in the same order as the drawing’s winning results. “It turns out, though, that when I picked my numbers to play, I’d placed two numbers out of order.” That’s what you call a happy mistake!
The couple will use their $50,000 prize to pay bills, build their savings and take a short vacation. “We started our celebration that night. We want to finish it somewhere warmer.”
The wrong-but-right Pick 5 ticket came courtesy of Carroll Mart #2906 at 2906 Churchville Road in Churchville. Ownership there will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a $50,000-winning Pick 5 ticket.
