Avid lottery player thought win was ‘too good to be true’ in Maryland. He was wrong

A frequent lottery player was left “over the moon with joy” after securing a big win in Maryland, officials said.

The retired contractor went to a Shell gas station Feb. 2 in Baltimore to buy tickets, according to a Feb. 7 news release by the Maryland Lottery. He had no idea he’d buy a ticket carrying a $30,000 prize.

The lucky winner normally buys two Pick 4 tickets, two Mega Millions tickets and two-scratch off games he hasn’t played before, officials said.

After sticking to his combination of games because he’d won $5,000 in the past, the winner was left with a prize he thought was “too good to be true,” lottery officials said.

When he compared his Mega Millions ticket to the winning numbers, he matched four numbers and the Mega Ball for a third-tier prize, leaving the man “shocked,” officials said.

The man “scanned the ticket several times” and confirmed his prize tripled thanks to his addition of a 3X Megaplier, officials said.

The winner raced to his car so he could rush home and put his winning ticket in a safe until he was able to claim his prize money, officials said.

The man told officials he plans to pay off his house with the money. The rest of his winnings will be split between his savings account and his church.

The jackpot in the Feb. 2 drawing and Mega Millions is still up for grabs with a prize total of $394 million for the Feb. 9 drawing, officials said. The cash option leaves the winner with $188.5 million.

This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Avid lottery player thought win was ‘too good to be true’ in Maryland. He was wrong."