Man uses numbers from solicitor messages on lottery ticket. He won big in Maryland
A loyal Maryland lottery player usually uses a familiar set of numbers on his tickets.
Typically, he plays numbers from license plates or birthdays, Maryland Lottery officials said in a Sept. 17 news release.
“I try to stay persistent and consistent,” the man told lottery officials.
However, he broke from his routine on July 20 after a solicitor would not quit, lottery officials said.
The business owner was inundated with “text messages from a number asking for money,” lottery officials said.
So much so, the solicitor’s number became ingrained in his brain.
“They kept calling and texting me and I said, ‘I am going to use that scammer to my advantage,’” the man told lottery officials.
He added the digits “to his number rotation,” lottery officials said.
And it’s a good thing he did.
When he used them to place a $1 bet on a Pick 5 ticket at a Walmart in Salisbury, it won him a $50,000 prize, leaving him “amazed,” according to lottery officials.
The man told lottery officials he plans to use a portion of his winnings to pay bills and tuck the rest away in the bank.
Salisbury is about a 120-mile drive southeast from Baltimore.
This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Man uses numbers from solicitor messages on lottery ticket. He won big in Maryland."
