Maryland lottery player stunned by $100K scratch-off win

A Middle River man couldn't believe his luck when a $10 scratch-off ticket turned into a six-figure windfall. This is his story of winning one of the top prizes in the Maryland Lottery's 50X the Cash game.

The winner, speaking with a Maryland Lottery official, revealed that he occasionally buys lottery tickets and decided to test his luck with a $10 scratch-off. He picked up his ticket at the Royal Farms store on 12545 Eastern Avenue in Dundalk. Instead of scratching it immediately, he took it home first. Interestingly, he's previously won several prizes over $100 but had never hit a life-changing six-figure amount. When he finally scratched the ticket, he was astonished to find a $100,000 prize under a matching number. I was confused when I saw the ticket. I thought it must be a misprint, he recalled of his big win. Staring at the ticket in disbelief, he said, My brain registered $100,000, but I thought, it must be $100. That just can’t be real. As the reality of winning the $100,000 top prize from the 50X the Cash ticket set in, he decided to call his wife to share the exciting news. Not wanting to tell her over the phone, he simply said, We need to talk. His wife feared something was wrong, but instead, she was thrilled by the life-changing news. The couple discussed future plans, with the husband saying, The last thing I want to do is spend it! They considered investing part of their winnings and saving most of their newfound fortune. Yet, the fortunate man from Middle River added that he would continue buying scratch-off tickets from time to time.

Each 50X the Cash ticket gives you 25 chances to win prizes up to $100,000. At a cost of $10 per ticket, the smallest prize you can win is $10. Out of the original nine top prizes of $100,000, only two are still available. The Maryland Lottery also offers a tier-two prize of $50,000 with the 50X the Cash, and half of the initial 10 prizes are still available. If you win a tier-three prize from this $10 ticket, you'll take home $10,000, with 11 of these prizes still in play. There are also numerous prizes ranging from $1,000 to $10 at the lower tier levels. Your overall odds of winning any prize with 50X the Cash are about 1 in 3.29.