Truck driver claims first of six top prizes on $20 Show Me $1,000,000! ticket
A Maryland Lottery scratch-off enthusiast from the Eastern Shore is Maryland’s newest millionaire after buying a $20 Show Me $1,000,000! instant ticket at a shop in the crossroads community of Mardela Springs in Wicomico County.
“He likes to scratch. I like to play the numbers,” said the winner’s girlfriend, who accompanied him to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim the prize.
“I love to scratch, but I never play the game,” said the 60-year-old winner. His technique is to buy an instant ticket, scratch off the latex covering the prize-check area and scan that.
“He takes all the fun out of scratching,” the girlfriend said, drawing a protest from the new millionaire who countered that he likes what he likes. Meanwhile, the girlfriend enjoys picking Lottery numbers to play from what life offers: phone numbers, license plates and such.
Both have won smaller amounts in the past, but certainly nothing approaching a cool $1million. As for enjoying the windfall, the winner mentioned giving some to his adult children, paying some bills, and “seeing what the lady likes” while indicating his girlfriend. She said that before he starts giving the prize away, she wants him to take care of himself by buying a house, paying off his car loan and squirreling some away.
A truck driver by profession, the winner is an avid angler and also plans to take a few extra fishing trips on Sinepuxent Bay. Also, he plans to continue playing Lottery scratch-offs because he enjoys them.
He claimed the first of six top prizes on the Show Me $1,000,000! game, which went on sale April 18. It’s part of a family of Show Me scratch-off games (Show Me $1,000!, Show Me $10,000!, Show Me $50,000!, and Show Me $100,000!), although the others went on sale May 23.
His lucky scratch-off came from Goose Creek #03 at 24948 Ocean Gateway in Mardela Springs. The Wicomico County business picks up a bonus of $1,000 from the Lottery for selling the hot instant ticket.
