Man who rarely plays the lottery takes advice from his friend’s uncle — and wins big
A Maryland man rarely plays lottery games.
So when his friend’s uncle suggested he buy a scratch-off ticket as they browsed a grocery store, he initially brushed the idea aside, saying he doesn’t play, Maryland Lottery officials said in a Feb. 27 news release.
“He told me to play anyway,” the Baltimore man told lottery officials.
The man heeded the advice and bought a $100,000 Crossword 8th Edition scratch-off ticket, lottery officials said.
“I didn’t even know how to play it,” he said in the release.
The lottery player, though, didn’t scratch his ticket.
Instead, “he used the scanner in the store,” but an error popped on screen, lottery officials said.
Unsure of what to do, the man tucked his ticket away in his pocket and headed home, where he later scratched it, lottery officials said.
But even after scratching the ticket, he was baffled — “he didn’t know how to tell if he won.”
He showed his ticket to his friend and his friend’s uncle, and they “were both very surprised,” lottery officials said.
“They said, “You have 10 words,’” the winner told lottery officials.
He glanced at his ticket.
“It said 10 words is $100,000,” the man said in the release.
Still unconvinced of his win, he and his friend went to another lottery retailer to scan his ticket and confirmed the six-figure win.
“I had to step outside for a minute,” the man told lottery officials. “I don’t normally freak out, but I did this time.”
The winner told lottery officials he plans to save his winnings.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Man who rarely plays the lottery takes advice from his friend’s uncle — and wins big."
