HVAC worker plays game regardless of jackpot size
Powerball fan James Stogner of St. Mary’s County buys a ticket for practically every drawing and saw his loyalty to the game pay off in a big way this month. He won a $50,000 third-tier prize in the March 11 drawing.
The happy winner said he will play Powerball whether the jackpot is reset to $20 million or rolling to record highs past the $1 billion mark.
“It doesn’t matter. The base jackpot is still a lot of money,” he said.
One of the HVAC worker’s favorite Lottery retailers is the Charlotte Hall Dash In #13533 at 30100 Three Notch Road. The Mechanicsville resident often purchases and checks his tickets at the St. Mary’s County gas station.
This time, when he checked the quick-pick ticket, the 51-year-old noticed a little more money than usual — $50,000 — had appeared on the screen.
“I had to check it three times just to make sure,” he said with a smile.
The Dash In store owner confirmed his big win and congratulated James on his prize. The Southern Maryland resident said he will use his money to pay bills. James was one of two big Maryland winners in the March 11 Powerball drawing. A Lanham woman also won $50,000. He plans to keep playing until he wins the jackpot.
Speaking of jackpots, both are climbing. Mega Millions returns Tuesday night with an estimated jackpot of $875 million or an estimated cash option of $413.5 million. Powerball is not far behind. Tonight’s jackpot is estimated at a $645 million annuity with an estimated cash option of $307.5 million.