Giddy grandpa tries his luck with new lottery strategy — and wins big in Maryland
.jpg "A Maryland grandpa tried his luck with a new lottery strategy, and it paid off big time.")
A grandpa tried his luck with a new lottery strategy, and it ended up paying off big time, Maryland lottery officials said.
He was eager to play his new car’s license plate numbers but was worried he wouldn’t be able to because he and his wife were running late, Maryland officials said in a news release.
The Somerset County man works the night shift and set out with enough time to stop and play the numbers before work, officials said. But when they finally left the house, they had to turn back to get something his wife had left at home.
“I’m sitting there thinking, ‘I’m going to miss getting in my numbers,’” he told lottery officials. “Thank goodness I made it.”
His urgency paid off, officials said. He had just enough time to play the license plate number straight for $1 — and it won him $50,000.
“I really only had been playing Pick 5 for a couple of weeks,” he said. “I couldn’t believe I hit it straight so soon.”
He and his wife found out they won later on while at his brother-in-law’s house, officials said.
He couldn’t stop smiling as he claimed his prize, officials said. He plans to retire this summer and take a vacation with his wife — and has started playing the license plate number from another car he recently bought.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Giddy grandpa tries his luck with new lottery strategy — and wins big in Maryland."
