Lottery player thought he won $100K, then kept scratching ticket. ‘Speechless’
A visit to Maryland turned into a $1 million payday for a New York native, lottery officials said.
The merchant marine’s “latest assignment brought him to the Port of Baltimore,” and he bought five scratch-off tickets at a convenience store, Maryland Lottery officials said in a July 22 news release. The Lucky 777 tickets were $20 each.
The commercial sailor scratched the tickets enough to reveal the QR codes, and then had the clerk scan them, lottery officials said.
The clerk “told me I won $100,000,” he said, per the release. “I was satisfied with that and left.”
But, later, his fellow merchant marines “encouraged him to scratch the full play area,” lottery officials said.
Then, “the real shock came,” lottery officials said, as he realized he’d actually won $1 million.
“I couldn’t believe it,” the man told lottery officials. “I was floored. For the first time in my life, I was speechless.”
When it comes to the winnings, the man said he wants “to be smart with it and save as much as I can for retirement.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he won $100K, then kept scratching ticket. ‘Speechless’."
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