A Silver Spring man, affectionately known as “Mr. Money Bags” by his family, is celebrating after claiming a remarkable $50,000 scratch-off prize.
Encouraged by his fiancée, he started playing scratch-off games earlier this year and recently won big for the first time in the Maryland Lottery’s $50,000 Cash scratch-off game.
The lucky winner felt compelled to play and visited a 7-Eleven convenience store on Frederick Road in Germantown earlier this month, browsing the store to avoid a long line at the register until the queue subsided.
When his turn came, “Mr. Money Bags” purchased two $50,000 Cash games and scanned them while still inside the business.
“I looked, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a message that said, ‘Go to Lottery,'” the winner recounted. “I paused and scanned it again, taking a better look at the message.” To his disbelief, he had won a staggering $50,000 prize; he showed the scratch-off to the cashier, who confirmed the win and advised him to take the lucky instant ticket home immediately.
The same advice was repeated when the lucky winner, an electrician by trade, enthusiastically shared the news with his fiancée and mother. He plans to use the prize money to fund his upcoming wedding and pay bills.
“When he came home and showed me he won, we were so excited,” said the winner’s fiancée, who accompanied him to claim the prize at the Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. “We just kept scanning it over and over again.”
According to the Maryland Lottery, the 7-Eleven store in Germantown that sold the winning instant ticket will also receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off.
Photo Courtesy of Maryland Lottery