Co-workers started a lottery club 10 years ago in Maryland. Now they’ll split big win

A decade ago, 10 co-workers came up with the idea to pool their money and buy Maryland lottery tickets each week, officials say.

The employees at the Port of Baltimore decided to spend about $20 a week on jackpot lottery tickets, according to a Sept. 20 news release from the Maryland Lottery.

The group just won $30,000 in a Mega Millions drawing Sept. 15. They’ll split their winnings 10 ways, officials say, earning each of them $3,000 before tax.

“According to the club’s spokesperson, the person who buys the ticket takes a picture of it and texts the photo to everyone in the group,” lottery officials said.

The buyer that week sent the group a photo of the $15 Mega Millions quick-pick ticket. The Baltimore resident had added the Megaplier feature to the ticket, which triples the potential prize, according to lottery officials.

He hadn’t checked the ticket, and then he went out of town. That’s when he got the call from his club, he said.

“My phone kept ringing and ringing,” he told officials. “When I finally answered, they were saying to check the ticket, because we won.”

They matched four white balls and the Mega Ball for a third-tier prize of $10,000. Because of the Megaplier, $10,000 turned into $30,000, officials said.

“Our club rules are to have one person claim the prize and then split the amount with the group,” the spokesperson told Maryland officials.

No one has hit the Mega Millions jackpot. The Sept. 22 jackpot is about $205 million, officials say.

This story was originally published September 22, 2023 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Co-workers started a lottery club 10 years ago in Maryland. Now they’ll split big win."