A stop through Maryland brings Powerball luck to Texas resident
A Maryland pitstop last month led to a $50,000 third-tier Powerball win for a traveling Texas truck driver. He had dropped off a load in Hagerstown and stopped at the nearby Pilot Travel Center at 11633 Greencastle Pike for snacks, Powerball and Mega Millions tickets before getting back on the highway.
Using a mixture of random numbers and family birthdays, the lucky out-of-state player bought Lottery games that included two Powerball tickets for the drawing set for Monday, July 15. He put his tickets away and headed home to Texas. It wasn’t until three days and more than 1,700 miles later that he realized he won a third-tier prize.
“I was on the road again and decided to check my tickets on the Powerball website,” said the married father of three. “I saw my matching numbers and knew it was something, but wasn’t sure how much.”
The San Benito resident then called his son to help check his numbers. “He said, ‘Dad, you almost won the jackpot,’” recalled the winner. “But then, he told me it was $50,000.” The player matched four white balls and the red Powerball for the third-tier win.
The happy dad then put all of his family members on a group call to share the exciting news.
He faced a dilemma, however, about how to claim his prize. According to Powerball rules, a winning ticket must be cashed in the state where it was purchased. So, that meant a return trip to Maryland to claim the $50,000 prize.
After explaining the situation to his company, the winner’s managers arranged a work route that would again take the winner through Maryland. He made an appointment to claim the prize to coincide with his work trip. His wife tagged along and joined her husband in the Lottery Winner’s Circle in Baltimore.
“We are so excited for him,” she said.
The Cameron County man told Lottery officials that he may be on a lucky roll. Prior to this win, he matched four numbers on a Powerball ticket a few weeks before. The grateful player said he plans to put the $50,000 prize into his retirement fund.
There’s still time to buy a ticket for tonight’s Powerball drawing. Try your luck to win the estimated $185 million annuity or $92.1 million cash option. This is one of 36 $50,000 third-tier winning Powerball tickets sold in Maryland this year.
