75-year-old heard news of big lottery win at gas station. ‘Didn’t think it was me’

A lifelong lottery player from Maryland didn’t think much of it when he heard a gas station clerk tell customers about a winning lottery ticket sold at the station.

“I didn’t think it was me but the more I thought about it, I decided I better check that ticket,” the retired government employee said, according to a Maryland Lottery news release.

The 75-year-old man discovered he had purchased the winning ticket at the gas station a day earlier, collecting $50,000 in the Oct. 4 Bonus Match 5 drawing, lottery officials said.

The man, whose name was not revealed, told lottery officials he remembers buying lottery tickets for his grandfather as a boy.

He and his wife plan to use the money to replace their home’s heating and air conditioning system, go on vacation and purchase a custom San Francisco 49ers jersey, officials said.

The Baltimore County gas station that sold the ticket will receive $500, lottery officials said.

This story was originally published October 10, 2023 at 1:43 PM with the headline "75-year-old heard news of big lottery win at gas station. ‘Didn’t think it was me’."