NEED TO KNOW
- An anonymous lottery winner revealed to Maryland Lottery officials how he chose his numbers for the Pick 5 game
- The winner from St. Mary’s County noticed a random truck’s license plate number and used that for his Pick 5 numbers
- “I was gasping for air. I was so happy,” the winner, who is approaching retirement, recalled after finding out he had won
A Maryland man rolled the dice on using a stranger’s license plate number as his lottery numbers — and the method paid off.
The St. Mary’s County resident, who has chosen to remain anonymous, explained how he won $200,000 playing Pick 5 in the Maryland Lottery.
“I was going to work and stopped at a red light in Charlotte Hall and I noticed the tag on a truck, 19363,” the man told the Maryland Lottery after claiming his prize at the agency’s headquarters in Baltimore on Aug. 15.
The chance sighting during his 70-plus-mile commute to work inspired him to purchase that combination, four $1 straight bets and four $1 boxed bets for the Aug. 6 evening drawing and the Aug. 7 midday drawing.
After the midday drawing, he noticed he had won. “I was gasping for air. I was so happy,” the man, who is approaching retirement, recalled.
The near-retiree shared two ways he’s planning to spend his prize.
“Oh, I’m going to get a crab cake,” the Maryland man proclaimed.
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He also wants “to renovate the old house,” where he grew up.
The St. Mary’s County man bought his winning ticket, using the stranger’s license plate number, at Third Base in Loveville.
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