Maynor Castro Hernandez, a father of four from New Carrollton, won $40,000 in the July 1 VaxCash drawing.
Father of four claims prize from July 1 drawing
Maynor Castro Hernandez is the latest winner to claim a $40,000 prize in the $2 Million VaxCash Promotion. The New Carrollton resident, who won in the July 1 drawing, had a hard time believing he was really a $40,000 winner.
“I was going to throw out the paperwork because I thought it was a scam, but then I showed it to my daughter,” Castro Hernandez said. “She told me I really won $40,000.”
The auto repair worker still didn’t believe it, so he showed the letter to a friend, who eventually accompanied him to Lottery headquarters to claim his prize on July 12.
The father of four plans to save his winnings. He will use some of it toward his daughter’s Quinceañera (15th birthday celebration) in a few years.
Castro Hernandez, originally from El Salvador, told Lottery officials he received his second COVID-19 shot in May and that he got the vaccine to protect his family.
The VaxCash Promotion, announced by Governor Larry Hogan on May 20, was a collaboration of the Maryland Lottery and the Maryland Department of Health, aimed at incentivizing Marylanders who had not yet received their COVID-19 vaccinations while rewarding those who had. All Maryland residents 18 and older who had received a COVID-19 shot at a non-Federal facility in Maryland at any time were automatically entered into daily drawings held from May 25 through July 4. Beginning with the June 27 drawing, any Maryland resident 18 or older who was vaccinated at a Veterans Affairs (VA) facility located in Maryland was also eligible.
Each day through July 3, one winner was awarded a $40,000 prize, and the promotion concluded on the Fourth of July with a single winner of a $400,000 prize. All VaxCash Promotion winners have been notified.
