PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — One man’s mistake is another man’s big payoff.
A Maryland man is half a million dollars richer after he was given the wrong lottery ticket. The winner’s identity has not been revealed, but his story is one for the books.
The man frequents the same gas station and plays the same game, so much so that he knows all of the employees. But on this particular Monday when he went to purchase his lottery tickets he was greeted by an unfamiliar face, a new cashier behind the counter. That’s how the lucky mistake began.
The winner usually plays Cash4Life, but due to a clerical error, he was given a ‘Multi-Match’ ticket. When the store clerk realized his mistake all he could do was apologize profusely. Unfortunately, the ticket could not be voided and replaced with a different one.
“I gave him the money and said, ‘I want to buy five Cash4Life tickets,’” the winner recalled. “The attendant made a mistake and gave me a Multi-Match ticket instead. I was like, ‘Oh, a new guy.’ He was so apologetic.”
Since there was nothing that could be done, the man kindly accepted the ticket.
Not thinking much of it, he let days go by before checking his ticket. Then one morning as he was leaving for work, he decided to open the Lottery mobile app to check his numbers and found out his ‘Multi-Match’ ticket was worth $580,000.
Thinking yet another mistake was made, the winner went to verify the ticket.
“On the way home from work that night, I stopped by the retailer and scanned it. I took a picture of the message to prove it was true.” said the winner.
He couldn’t believe it and neither could his wife, a healthcare worker, who said she thought he was pulling a prank on her until he sent her that picture.
“If anyone deserves this, it is him,” the wife said. “He is a hard-working man, a good husband and a good father.”
The winner said he’s going to use the money to pay off their kid’s student loans, pay bills, and open up a healthcare facility to aid elderly patients.
If you’re feeling lucky head over to the Exxon located at 10350 Campus Way South in Prince George’s County, maybe lightning will strike twice and you too could win a big jackpot.