Uber driver says lottery prize is a ‘gift’ for his ‘struggling’ family in Maryland
.jpg "A man says his $50k Maryland lottery winnings will help his family get to spend more time together.")
A Maryland family got lucky with a $10 lottery ticket.
It started when a 47-year-old “cash-strapped” Uber driver found a month-old Powerball ticket in his briefcase, according to a Maryland Lottery news release. The Fort Washington resident stopped at Oxon Hill Liquors at 6369 Livingston Road to check the ticket.
“It was a $6 winner, which I was about to put in my wallet. But then I found $4 in my pocket,” the man told lottery officials. “The $4 cash in my pocket is what did it.”
Using his $10, the man decided to replay the same numbers on a Powerball ticket for the Sept. 7 drawing, he said.
While back in the Oxon Hill area the weekend of Sept. 10, the man stopped into his “lucky store” again to check the ticket.
“When I scanned the ticket, it told me to take it to the Lottery. I’d never seen that before,” he said.
So he drove home to check the winning numbers and he was shocked by what he found.
“I saw the matching numbers on my ticket and couldn’t believe they added up to $50,000,” the man said. “I called my wife in to tell her. We sat in stunned silence for five solid minutes.”
The man said the win comes at a hard time for his family. He explained that over the past few months he has spent more time away from home, so the prize comes as a “real gift.”
“This gives us a little breathing room. We’re still struggling financially, but I no longer have to work shift after shift.” he told officials. “We’ll be able to spend more time together.”
The man was the first and only Maryland player to claim a third-tier prize in the drawing. He was one of six third-tier winners nationwide.
Oxon Hill is about 25 miles south of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Uber driver says lottery prize is a ‘gift’ for his ‘struggling’ family in Maryland."
