Lottery player ‘almost had a heart attack’ after his big win. ‘It’s a blessing’
A Maryland man was in line at a liquor store when two customers ahead of him each bought lottery tickets.
He decided to follow their lead — and it led him to a life-changing prize, Maryland Lottery officials said in an April 29 news release.
One shopper bought a few MONOPOLY™ X200 tickets for $30 each, while the next person bought a $10 MONOPOLY™ X50 game ticket, lottery officials said.
“No one touched the $20 ticket,” the man told lottery officials.
So, the Ellicott City man bought a $20 MONOPOLY™ X100 ticket, lottery officials said.
He scratched his ticket and found “a winning match on 59,” according to lottery officials.
“I scanned it and all these numbers started coming up,” the man said in the release.
Turns out, the man, who expects “bare minimum” prizes when he plays lottery games, scored the game’s top prize of $1 million, lottery officials said.
“I almost had a heart attack,” he told lottery officials.
The winner told lottery officials he’s only shared the news of his big win with his girlfriend.
He said he plans to spend his winnings on a new car for himself and to square up some finances.
But he also plans to help others with his winnings, including friends who’ve recently lost jobs, his mother and his girlfriend with a budding business, lottery officials said.
“It’s a blessing,” he told lottery officials. “You have to spread it around.”
Though he considered his “win as a once-in-a-lifetime dream come true,” the man told lottery officials he plans to keep playing lottery games “because you never know.”
Ellicott City is about a 10-mile drive southwest from Baltimore.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Lottery player ‘almost had a heart attack’ after his big win. ‘It’s a blessing’."
