Lottery player accidentally buys extra scratch-off ticket — and ends up winning big
A Maryland man gave himself a lottery budget. He brought $100 to a 7-Eleven; $50 for draw games, and $50 for scratch-off tickets.
The 40-year-old player decided to try out the new $20 Hot 777 scratch-off game for the first time, intending to buy one ticket, Maryland Lottery officials said in a May 31 news release.
But he accidentally bought two tickets. It was a life-changing mistake.
Moments after leaving the store, he sat in his car and scratched the tickets and saw that the extra one he purchased won him $50,000.
“The winner immediately took a photo of his lucky scratch-off and sent the photo to his wife,” lottery officials said.
The winner and his wife, who have been together for a decade, told lottery officials they were going to use the money to pay off debt.
The man won the first of the Hot 777’s eight $50,000 prizes, and since the launch of the game on April 24, it has quickly risen to the second-most popular game in the Maryland Lottery, officials said.
The winner is from Beltsville, about 10 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 8:49 AM with the headline "Lottery player accidentally buys extra scratch-off ticket — and ends up winning big."
