Lottery player never thought of himself as ‘lucky.’ Then he won big in Maryland

A lottery player bought a handful of scratch-offs and won big, Maryland officials said.

The Montgomery County man bought the instant tickets with his friend and quickly learned of his $50,000 prize as he scratched the games, according to a May 23 news release by the Maryland Lottery.

“I didn’t believe what I was seeing, because I never thought of myself as lucky,” the mechanic who bought the ticket in Mt. Airy told lottery officials.

He couldn’t come to terms with his win, so after he scanned the $5 “Let’s Make a Deal” scratch-off, he even went to different retailers to double check, officials said.

He’s always “enjoyed playing the lottery with family and coworkers” but has never won more than a few hundred dollars until now, officials said.

The lucky winner didn’t specify what he plans to do with the winnings but did say he wants to “keep the exact amount under wraps when sharing the news with loved ones,” officials said.

Mt. Airy about a 40-mile drive northwest from Baltimore.

This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Lottery player never thought of himself as ‘lucky.’ Then he won big in Maryland."