Rockville Couple Plans To Share $50K Powerball Win With Friend In Need

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Rockville man surprised his wife with news that he'd won $50,000 from the Maryland Lottery on Monday, according to a release.

On Jan. 30, 56-year-old IT specialist, who is a regular Powerball player, stopped by the Courthouse Exxon located at 700 Rockville Pike in Rockville to purchase a ticket for that night's drawing. He spent $10 for five lines of quick-pick numbers before heading home.

When the man checked his numbers the next day during a break at work, he discovered that he'd matched five white balls and the red Power Ball number in the previous night's drawing.

Since his wife had a birthday coming up, the man told lottery officials that he wanted to surprise her with the news.

“I texted her that I have some really good news,” he said, according to the release. “When she came home, I asked had she checked the text messages.”

His wife said she didn't have a chance because she was driving. After checking her phone, the woman hurried back to the kitchen to hear the good news.

“I had no idea he was going to say he won $50,000,” she told lottery officials. “I’m thinking he’s going to say we are doing something special for my birthday.”

The couple plans to save some of the winnings for security reasons but also wanted to help out a friend in need.

“It’s important when you have a financial blessing, to bless someone else,” they said, according to the release. “We know someone who is really in need right now.”

Although the Jan. 30 drawing saw 37 people across the U.S. win $50,000 each, no one won the jackpot. The jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing is $700 million — the sixth largest in Powerball history. The jackpot has an estimated cash option of $375.7 million.