ELLICOTT CITY, MD — A Howard County man hit the Multi-Match jackpot in April and claimed his prize May 14 at Maryland Lottery headquarters.
The appreciative player has been playing the same numbers, twice a week, for years and it finally paid off, he said.
“I never look at the winning numbers, I always scan my ticket,” the Ellicott City man said. “But, for some reason this time, I looked up the winning numbers.”
The very last line of numbers in the very last game on his ticket matched all of the Multi-Match winning numbers drawn that night, showing he was the winner of a $570,000 jackpot.
“I’m looking at the numbers and looking at my ticket,” he said. “I thought, this can’t be true.”
The next day the lucky player scanned his ticket at his local lottery retailer and the message told him the prize was too large to cash there. This created a wave of panic for the big winner. He immediately signed his ticket and hid it, but was still dazed by his good fortune, lottery officials said. His nervousness caused a delay in him claiming the prize.
“Multi-Match Maniac” said he couldn’t sleep and was having dreams about his ticket going missing. But after nearly 30 days, he finally claimed his prize.
The winner chose the $320,000 cash option and plans to pay his daughter’s college tuition and invest the rest.
“That’s my favorite part of all of this,” he said with a smile.
The winning ticket was purchased from the 7-Eleven store located at 8251 Snowden River Parkway in Columbia. The retailer will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
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