Lottery player’s stop for Halloween candy in Maryland ends in huge Powerball prize

A regular Powerball player got a massive Halloween treat.

The 58-year-old was rushing to get home on Saturday, Oct. 29, when he stopped at a grocery store in Bowie, Maryland, to grab Halloween candy, according to a Nov. 3 news release from Maryland lottery officials.

“I wasn’t actually going to go to Giant,” the player told officials. “But I was in a hurry to get home.”

Along with his Halloween treats, the man bought 10 quick-pick tickets for that night’s Powerball drawing, officials said. At the time of the drawing, the jackpot had reached $800 million.

The man told officials he serves as his father’s caregiver, so after he got home he didn’t have time to check his numbers. It wasn’t until the next morning, when he heard that no one had won the jackpot, that he checked his tickets.

“It was on the last of the 10 tickets,” he said. “I looked it up and this thing is saying $1 million!”

When he first saw his prize, the man thought it was wrong and made his brother double check. Sure enough, he had won a $1 million second-tier Powerball prize.

He told officials he felt a sense of relief when he saw his prize.

“I’m just thankful,” the player said.

The lucky player said he doesn’t have immediate plans for his winnings aside from caring for his father and continuing to pursue the Powerball jackpot, according to lottery officials.



As of Nov. 4, the Powerball jackpot had climbed to about $1.6 billion, the largest Powerball prize in history. No one has won the jackpot since August. The next drawing is Saturday, Nov. 5.

This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Lottery player’s stop for Halloween candy in Maryland ends in huge Powerball prize."

Moira Ritter

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Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.