Maryland man wins huge lottery prize after playing the game for the first time

First time was a charm for a Baltimore man who recently won a $50,000 lottery jackpot — the first time he played the game.

The man, identified only as “Alex,” bought a $1 straight bet ticket for the Maryland Lottery’s “Pick 5” game on March 14, for the midday drawing, the website for the Maryland Lottery said in a March 19 news article. 

“I never played before and I couldn’t think of five random numbers, so I told the retailer to pick the numbers for me,” “Alex” told the Maryland Lottery website. 

“I wasn’t expecting to win anything.”

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The winning numbers for Pick 5 games are drawn twice a day, seven days a week, says the Maryland Lottery website. The top prize, $50,000, is awarded for correctly picking five numbers in the order they are drawn. 

Alex and his friend purchased the ticket at the Niki Food Mart & Lottery in Baltimore, Maryland. He told the Maryland Lottery that he typically only buys lottery tickets if the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots are high. 

On March 14, however, Alex bought a Pick 5 ticket after his friend suggested he do so. 

He then forgot to check the numbers — until he was getting gas a few days later. 

Alex asked an employee at the gas station to see if he had won anything, and was told his ticket was a “big winner” — but the employee at the gas station did not say how much he had won, just that it was too large of a win to be paid out at the store. 

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In Maryland, all lottery retailers can cash out prizes up to and including $600, says the Maryland Lottery website.

Confused, Alex then went to a casino in Maryland to attempt to claim his winnings. 

Maryland Lottery winners can claim prizes up to and including $25,000 at six casinos throughout the state. 

It was at this point that Alex received the news: While the casino would not be able to pay out his prize, it was because he had actually won $50,000. 

A prize that big has to be picked up at the Maryland Lottery’s headquarters in Baltimore, says the Maryland Lottery’s website. 

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“I thought it was a defective ticket because of the retailer not telling me how much it was, but when they told me [how much it was] at the casino, I almost fell out,” said Alex to the Maryland Lottery. 

“I could not believe what I was hearing.”

Alex said he kept a low profile at the casino and did not publicly celebrate his big win — but he did quickly make an appointment to pick up his prize. 

Now many thousands of dollars richer than he was before, Alex told the Maryland Lottery that he will pay off his bills and “spoil his wife.” 

He will also keep playing Pick 5 games, he said, now that he has won big. 

“After something like this happens to you, you’ve got to feel more motivated to play and I plan to play more often,” he said. 

The Maryland Lottery was founded in 1973, says its website.

Since that time, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control agency has contributed $19.3 billion to the state of Maryland.

The Maryland Lottery had no additional comment. 

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