Community Corner
$50K Lottery Win For Newly Immigrated Fairfax County Resident
Prakash Pandey, who immigrated legally to the U.S. recently, won $50,000 in the Maryland Lottery's $500 Loaded scratch-off game.
FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax County resident Prakash Pandey, who legally immigrated to the U.S. recently, now has a sizable nest egg to help him get settled thanks to the Maryland Lottery.
Pandey, 35, began playing lottery games when he moved to the area and won $50,000 prize on a $500 Loaded scratch-off.
“I was supposed to come to the United States last year,” said the information technologies professional, “but after travel was shut down because of the pandemic, all my plans were delayed.”
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He purchased the winning ticket from Dash In #1851, located at 6000 Sandy Spring Road Laurel, Maryland. After scratching off the winning numbers, he then scratched off the rest of the card. He found a matching number and scratched under that to reveal the $50,000 prize.
Pandey was so shocked that he had the clerk scan the instant ticket three times to confirm that he was indeed a winner.
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“I just had to be sure,” he said. “I was and still am in a state of shock.”
Pandey told lottery officials he planned to use his windfall to help settle into his new country.
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