Finds $50,000 prize on $1,000,000 Blowout game
A La Plata man arrived at Maryland Lottery headquarters this week with an unusual Thanksgiving leftover — a $50,000 winning scratch-off. When he claimed the prize with his girlfriend, the winner explained his delay in turning in his winning $1,000,000 Blowout game.
“I was kind of waiting for a day off,” the 42-year-old told Lottery officials, explaining that he works unusual hours. The loyal player added, “I knew I had time.”
The instant ticket fan plays scratch-offs every morning at Xtra Fuels in Upper Marlboro. Before going to work on Thanksgiving, he made sure to keep to his routine and visit the business at 15009 Marlboro Pike. He purchased three $1,000,000 Blowout scratch-offs and rode around all day with the games in his truck. At the end of his workday, the electronics security official scratched them off.
“The first prize I saw said $1,000,” he said, “but as I scratched, I saw I had a match on every line. It took me a minute but after adding it all up, I saw it was a $50,000 win.”
The happy man immediately called his girlfriend to share his great news. She thought it was a joke and insisted he send her a picture of the $20 instant ticket. “He was frantic,” she said. “I still needed proof.”
After convincing his girlfriend of his Lottery luck, the player drove to his parents’ house to tell them the news in person. He then went home and put the instant ticket in a fireproof safe. The winner told Lottery officials that he has no concrete plans for the prize, but it might go toward future home renovations.
The $1,000,000 Blowout game still has plenty of unclaimed prizes remaining. The scratch-off has five unclaimed $1 million top prizes, 10 more $50,000 prizes, 41 $10,000 prizes and thousands of others ranging from $20 to $5,000.
