Son uses dad’s license plate as lottery inspiration — and wins big. ‘There were tears’
Jorge Vasquez Jr.’s lottery win has an extra special meaning.
That’s because he used numbers from his father’s license plate when he bought the Pick 5 ticket at a liquor store in Cheltenham, Maryland lottery officials said in a March 13 news release.
Once Vasquez was sure his ticket was a winner, he went to his dad.
“I told him that his plate number had come through for me and that I’d won $50,000. It was emotional for both of us. There were tears,” he told lottery officials.
Vasquez, who lives in Prince George’s County and works at a school, said he’s been playing the license plate-inspired numbers “in one form or the other, for 10 years, maybe even longer” and that they “always seemed special,” according to lottery officials.
He learned he’d won on March 6 when he checked the midday Pick 5 drawing after work, lottery officials said. He bought the ticket for $2.
He said he plans to pay bills and help a family member with the winnings, per the release.
Cheltenham is about a 45-mile drive south from Baltimore.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Son uses dad’s license plate as lottery inspiration — and wins big. ‘There were tears’."
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