‘Stunned’ lottery player has clerk check ticket. His grin told him win was real
A Maryland lottery player verified his big win not by scanning his ticket but instead by the reaction of a store clerk.
The Eastern Shore man bought a few $5 Joker’s Wild tickets at a Greenbelt store upon seeing there was one top prize remaining, Maryland Lottery officials said in an Aug. 11 news release.
When he scratched his tickets, lottery officials said the man realized one had a number that came with a $50,000 prize.
“I was stunned,” the man told lottery officials. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Skeptical, the player “wanted to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him,” lottery officials said.
Without giving any indication that the ticket may be a winner, “he gave his ticket to a store clerk to scan,” lottery officials said.
“When he scanned and I saw the grin on his face, I knew it was real,” the winner said.
The man told lottery officials he saved the coin he used to scratch his winning ticket.
“Now I have a lucky quarter,” he said.
The winner said he plans to use his winnings “to square (up) his finances.”
Greenbelt is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Baltimore.
This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM with the headline "‘Stunned’ lottery player has clerk check ticket. His grin told him win was real."
