TEMPLE HILLS, MD – A Maryland man almost threw out a lottery ticket worth $50,000. The winner of a Gold X20 scratch-off of $50,000 almost threw it away when he thought the ticket did not contain a prize, but a last-minute check of the $5 game saved the day.
A Southern Maryland man whose name was withheld due to privacy concerns, described his close call when he and his wife purchased gas at Wawa in La Plata. He also purchased $30 worth of scratch-off tickets.
“I had a few bucks in my pocket and I decided to play,” he said.
He and his wife went home to scratch off the games and check for winners. The Temple Hills couple made two piles of scratch-offs. A winning ticket went in one pile, non-winners went in the other.
In the process of sorting, 22-year-old he stopped to look at another scratched instant ticket. The Gold X20 game was already scratched, but they decided to check if there was a prize before dumping it.
“We were going to throw the ticket away. We are lucky we didn’t!” hesaid.
This year, he won the fifth of nine $50,000 top prizes. He plans to use his fortune to purchase a home with his wife.
“We were both deciding if we should try to get a house in this tough market. We will get one now,” he said with a smile.
Based on a story published by the Maryland Lottery.