Lexington Park man celebrates Lottery luck days before his 23rd birthday
With his 23rd birthday coming up, a regular Maryland Lottery player from Lexington Park followed his usual haircut ritual, but this time it led to something very much out of the ordinary – a $20,200 payday.
“It was the best haircut I ever got!” he said on June 24 when he visited Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize before heading to the beach to celebrate.
The lucky winner from St. Mary’s County, who goes by the nickname “Tonka” for reasons that are meaningful to himself and a few friends, went to his usual haircut spot in Lexington Park.
“I get a haircut, I walk to the ATM, I go to the liquor store and decide what to play,” he said.
The liquor store is 2000 Liquors at 21800 Shangri-La Drive in Lexington Park. Sometimes on such haircut occasions he plays several tickets. This time he made a single purchase: the $20 ticket 2020 Cash. That’s all it took. He won a $20,200 top prize.
An employee with a defense contractor at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, “Tonka” is originally from Waldorf, where he grew up in a family of Maryland Lottery enthusiasts.
“My whole family likes to play,” he said, noting that he likes to “treat myself every once in a while” with the purchase of a ticket or a few.
Though he plans to put the money away in his savings account, he will be celebrating during a previously planned trip to Ocean City.
Also having reason to celebrate is 2000 Liquors, which picks up a bonus of $202 for selling the winning ticket.
