Dad plays adult kids’ birthdays in lottery ‘every night’ since births. He finally won
A retired federal worker has been playing his adult children’s birthdays in his favorite Maryland lottery game religiously since they were born, and it finally paid off.
“I play Bonus Match 5 every night,” the Aberdeen resident told lottery officials when he collected his prize from lottery headquarters in Baltimore, according to a Feb. 6 news release. “I never miss it.”
And every night when he plays, he uses his children’s birthdays, officials said.
“I have been playing their numbers since they were born and now they are adults,” he said in the release.
The game started in Maryland in September 1995, officials said.
He was “checking the winning numbers to the Jan. 30 drawing on his phone, when he saw his numbers start to match,” officials said. He won the $50,000 top prize on a $2 ticket he’d bought at a Shell gas station.
It “was the third top-prize winning Bonus Match 5 ticket sold in 2025,” officials said.
The man wants to pay bills with his winnings, he told lottery officials.
Aberdeen is about a 35-mile drive northeast from Baltimore.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Dad plays adult kids’ birthdays in lottery ‘every night’ since births. He finally won."
