Friends buy scratch-offs together in Maryland. Then came prize they ‘never expected’

A big lottery win “came at the perfect time” for a pair of best friends in Maryland, officials said.

Brian Brown, an avid lottery player, was at a gas station in Delmar to buy scratch-offs when his friend, Matthew Robinson, decided to play too, according to an Oct. 25 news release by the Maryland Lottery.

“He put in some money,” Brown said about Robinson, according to the release.

When the two got home, they scratched their tickets and learned Robinson’s $5 Gold Bar Bingo 5th Edition ticket was carrying a $50,000 prize, officials said.

“I never expected this to happen,” Robinson told lottery officials.

The men, who already had plans to start a fiberglass repair and fabrication business together, said this win puts them on “track to start” it, officials said.

As for immediate plans, Robinson said the money will be used “to feed (their) families,” officials said.

“If not for him, I would not be here,” Robinson said about Brown.

Delmar is about a 110-mile drive southeast of Baltimore.

This story was originally published October 28, 2024 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Friends buy scratch-offs together in Maryland. Then came prize they ‘never expected’."