This Salisbury dad’s Quick Pick ticket landed a $50,000 Powerball Double Play prize.
Third-tier win comes on Quick Pick ticket
The Eastern Shore husband and wife started playing an occasional Maryland Lottery game about a year ago, when colds and COVID-19 hit the family and led to extended periods together.
“We were stuck home for a while,” said “Powerball Dad” of Salisbury, who arrived at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize on Feb. 6. “I thought, ‘I’m going to get a couple of tickets’” and their journey to a third-tier Powerball prize began. The pair enjoy playing Powerball, Mega Millions and a scratch-off now and then, he said, but they had never scored a prize of more than $80 until this month.
So many coincidences led to his Lottery luck, said the Powerball fan. For example, a $12 winning ticket was nearly forgotten until Jan. 31, when he needed to buy gas. The information technology professional keeps receipts in a pouch and he found the ticket tucked in with other papers.
“I had to go to a specific gas station because my in-laws had $1 off (a gallon) discount on gas,” said “Powerball Dad.” But when he arrived, the system was inoperable and the clerk reported that he needed five minutes or so to reset the equipment. No worries, said “Powerball Dad,” who planned to shop while out getting gas.
He wound up at Wine Rack, located at 100 West Cedar Line in Fruitland. “I used the winning ticket to buy this ticket,” said “Powerball Dad, noting the $8 Powerball Quick Pick ticket with Double Play for the Feb. 1 drawing. He always adds Double Play to his Powerball tickets and the Megaplier to his Mega Millions tickets. Double Play is a second drawing that occurs 30 minutes after every Powerball drawing, giving players the chance to win up to $10 million with the same numbers on their ticket.
The ticket came home with him and the drawing on Feb. 1 came and went. His wife scanned the ticket, using the Lottery app on her phone. “It kept saying, ‘Take to Retailer,’” the winner recalled. They weren’t sure what that meant and kept scanning the ticket and getting the same message. Next, she held the ticket side by side with the winning numbers on her phone.
Pranked in the past to think she had a winning ticket by a family member, the wife was afraid initially that another prank was in progress, said “Powerball Dad.”
But when he looked at the ticket and compared the winning Double Play numbers, the Wicomico County man realized the ticket matched four of the white balls. They had won a $50,000 third-tier prize, the husband told his wife and she started crying.
Wanting to confirm their big win, the husband “rushed out to the retailer.” He carefully and quietly scanned the ticket on a store ticket checker. When it said “Take to Lottery,” he had no further doubts that Lottery luck had come their way. “I got the message,” he said, laughing.
The couple will pay bills with the prize, use the funds for a home renovation project and take the family on a nice summer vacation, said “Powerball Dad.” “All of the money is going to be helpful.”
There’s still time to buy tickets for the Saturday, Feb. 8 drawing. Players can try to win the estimated jackpot annuity of $133 million or the cash option of $60.3 million.
