A Maryland man who unknowingly struck gold with a scratch-off also hit the jackpot with his choice of friends, as the lotto player's pal alerted him to the big win after he had discarded the ticket.
The 67-year-old Baltimore County man routinely travels up and down Belair Road to purchase instant tickets for games that still have unclaimed top prizes, he told the Maryland lottery.
Most recently he bought a "Gold" scratch-off ticket at Nikki's Discount Liquors in Baltimore, but thought he hadn't won anything, he said.
The heavy equipment mechanic handed off what he thought was a dud to his co-worker and friend, who routinely enters non-winning tickets into My Lottery Rewards to try his luck in second-hand drawings.
But when he tried entering in the "Gold" ticket, he realized the $5 game carried a $50,000 top prize.
"He told me he had to verify the ticket twice to make sure it was real," the lucky winner said. "The next day when he gave me the ticket, he said 'You're lucky I like you!'"
The father of two grown children and grandfather of two told Lottery officials how grateful he is for his friend's honesty. "I gave him the biggest hug and almost cried," said the fortunate player. "I really don't know how I missed that it was a winner."
The happy man plans to use the prize to pay off his truck loan and make home improvements.
Also winning is Nikki's Discount Liquors, which sold the Gold scratch-off. The store located at 7542 Belair Road earns a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize winning ticket in the game.
The Gold scratch-off still has three remaining top prizes of $50,000 awaiting discovery, along with thousands of others ranging from $5 to $5,000.
Personally, I enjoy reading these good luck stories. Being from Maryland he could keep his identity a secret. His choice of friends paid off big time.
After you check your scratch off's it's best to take a second look and double check them before discarding!
Precisely- it’s the reason some folk out there go dumpster & scratcher diving. Some have found “treasure” in that garbage. Instead of keeping this win to himself, knowing he is not the rightful owner, he showed his true colors. Given that money can create “enemies “- this guy showed he is a TRUE friend.
It's always worth double checking your tickets. In Florida, thousands of winning tickets are thrown away each year by careless players.
Congratulations skeptic!! Good work rechecking the ticket.
Like I've said before I found a $200 ticket in the trash, took it to another store to cash it in. This wise azz guy said it was his, set him straight as to where it came from.
Doesn't every lottery retailer have a scanner? Before you buy more, take your old ones in and check them.
Now that is an honest friend!! It would be cool if the winner blessed his friend by rewarding him for his honesty. Blessings to them both!!
Oh wow!! I see a lot of tickets on the ground just laying around various gas stations here in NC & (now) instead of just throwing them away, maybe I'll start checking them before I throw them away!!
Congrats on the win and having an honest friend.
I would have given him a big hug and at least $500. After all, the friend could have kept it all!
there is no mention of him giving him anything except gratitude, which could easily escalate this relationship into a former one. the finder deserves a minimum of 1500.00 for this and probably has a similar figure in his own mind. how quickly he was to say i'm going to pay off my truck and fix my house. that could chew up thousands and thousands which indicates to me that he is using it all and no reward is forthcoming to the finder. i do not care how friendly and close they were in the past but this has some potential bitterness on the horizon.
Vaguely runs along the lines of this guy in Florida playing a slot machine. He asked his friend to hit the button, she hit the jackpot for $10K and wouldn't give a dime. I asked about this @ the casinos here and they said yes, whomever hits the button is the winner regardless if the other person's players card is in the machine. To think I USED TO DO THIS asking strangers to hit the button for me. Needless to say that practice stopped immediately.
Did you say "his friend"? LOL
l hear you BB, however just because it is not mentioned in the report,that the friend was given “ something,” it does not mean it did not happen. Some things do not need an explanation. It’s like saying, l invited some friends over to a bbq, and Mike ate 2 extra drumsticks.... who needs to know, who cares?
Maryland just upgraded their system with new scanners and new lottery ticket printers (not sure of the correct terminology) that are a vast improvement over their old set up, so yes, always scan even if you think it is a loser. Plus, even more convenient, they have an awesome phone app that checks both printed and scratch-off tickets. I never again have to wait in line behind someone who is scanning a 100 tickets from the last six months.
it was sort of pertinent to the story. usually a gratuity goes hand in hand with a situation of this nature. it just seemed like the lucky owner of the ticket who got it back made it a point to say he was using the money to pay off his truck (maybe he just bought it recently and has 5 years or more left to pay) and the rest for home repairs. kind of like saying indirectly to the finder that he needs it all so no reward for you chump. thanks for returning it, i'll make sure i add you to my christmas card list.
l continue to get it BB, however we moving into the realm of conjecture. Perhaps the friend did not want to be mentioned. I am * sure there have been cases where a JP winner has swung by the store that sold the winning ticket, has asked for so & so, and slipped them 10K, and said “ lips are sealed, right?” followed by a head nod. The possibilities are endless. Point taken nonetheless.
i wouldn't be too sure about that given that JP winners do not receive all that money for up to a month after winning it. sure, they will give you a down payment if you ask but i don't think they are all running back to the store to tip someone for something they really didn't do. maybe a quick pic scenario which the clerk would be totally the reason you won. but card filler outers should never tip a store or employee. for what? running your card through a machine. the financial planners would advise against this if you employed one after a win. somehow, i do not believe in this case this guy gave him anything for returning that ticket to him. just a gut feeling. maybe he did, but that declaration of what he planned to do with it speaks volumes.
One should not expect a reward for doing the right thing.
The " gut feeling " can be overused - had Custer survived, do you think he would have blamed the GF, for not taking his scout's advice?
maybe not. but a large percentage of people do. certainly he would deserve a reward over some convenience store clerk who just sold you the ticket unless he quick picked it. then the clerk by hesitating a mini-second before hitting the key hit it at the exact right time. that deserves a tip. this is why i never play quic pics. i would feel obligated to tip the person. when you go to lottery headquarters should you tip the person who cuts you the check. doubt if anyone ever has or ever will. maybe a tip and a reward are two different things.
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! I hope that both can do something enjoyable together to celebrate their valuable friendship!