National

Trucker wins big lottery prize while running errands in Maryland. ‘I couldn’t breathe’

A stop for errands paid off big for a lottery player in Maryland.
A stop for errands paid off big for a lottery player in Maryland. Photo by Dylan Nolte via Unsplash

A Maryland lottery player tried his luck at a different store — and won big.

The Caroline County man was running his weekend errands and stopped at the Greensboro Tiger Mart to play two Pick 5 games, the Maryland Lottery said in a May 8 news release.

He netted a $50,000 prize in the midday drawing on May 4.

“I normally buy all my games from another location and always from the cashier,” he told lottery officials. “But here, I went to the vending machine.”

The man, who owns a trucking company, “couldn’t breathe” after checking his ticket and quickly called his wife, lottery officials said.

“I sat there looking at the numbers ...” he recalled.

The lucky player beat odds of 1 in 100,000 to win the $50,000 grand prize, according to the Maryland Lottery website.

The man said he plans to put most of his winnings into his trucking business, but he also wants to take a vacation and help his family financially, according to officials.

Greensboro is about a 40-mile drive east from downtown Annapolis.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

Read Next
Read Next
Read Next

This story was originally published May 8, 2024 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Trucker wins big lottery prize while running errands in Maryland. ‘I couldn’t breathe’."

Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER