A $2 quick-pick ticket gave “Happy Days” of Baltimore a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 prize.
Baltimore man finds top prize in Bonus Match 5 drawing
A Baltimore man who plays Pick 3, Mega Millions and Powerball regularly said he only tries his hand at Bonus Match 5 when he has a lucky hunch.
The nightly game just delivered the biggest Lottery prize of his life, but when makes his $50,000 top-prize win even more remarkable is the fact that he wasn’t chasing a hunch this time about lucky numbers. He simply added a Bonus Match 5 quick-pick ticket for the Oct. 1 drawing to his regular game purchases.
“This was actually pure luck,” said the winner, who is going by the nickname “Happy Days” to share his story. Prior to this $50,000 win, his largest prize was $290.
A change in routine led to the spur-of-the-moment Bonus Match 5 ticket purchase, he said. “Happy Days” was installing bedroom flooring at home and forgot to buy his tickets at his usual time. Instead, on Oct. 1, he bought tickets for a week of drawings in his regular games at his favorite retailer, Hob’s Citgo in Sparrows Point. He added the Bonus Match 5 ticket and went on his way.
The 57-year-old was driving to work another day when he decided to stop back in at Hob’s Citgo to check his tickets. When he scanned the Bonus Match 5 ticket, the message on the ticket checker told him he won but not the size of the prize. “Happy Days” said he’d never seen that happen before.
“I’m shaking,” he recalled, “I’m holding the ticket and shaking.” Calling to the store owner, he asked her to check the ticket for him. After doing so and excitedly saying that he won $50,000, she handed the very shocked player a pen. She urged him to sign the back of the ticket immediately, which he did. “I walked outside and my heart was pounding so fast,” he said.
At this point, it was 6:30 a.m., but “Happy Days” was making his way to work he called his wife to share the good news. She joked that the couple’s two cats want a share of the prize. He laughed, recalling that she said, “Tucker & Kitty are making their Christmas lists.”
Having claimed his prize, “Happy Days” said the cats already have enough toys. He said half of the money will go to pay down the mortgage and the rest into savings and a nice vacation with his wife.
His lucky retailer, which is located at 7115 North Point Road in Sparrows Point, will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize winning ticket in the game. His ticket was the 39th $50,000 top-prize winning Bonus Match 5 ticket sold in Maryland this year.
