A MARYLAND man has scooped up a $1 million prize from a scratch-off ticket, but his big win left him confused.
The winning ticket, bought after playing a round of golf, was worth seven figures – but the lucky lottery player had to give up over $327,000 instantly due to a caveat with the game.
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The anonymous player, going by the pseudonym “19th Hole” as a nod to his love of golf, was on his way to play a round at Nutters Crossing Golf Club when he decided to buy a lottery ticket, he told Maryland Lottery officials.
He bought a $1 Million Royale scratch-off ticket for $20 at the nearby Express Lane convenience store at 4912 Snow Hill Road in Salisbury, Maryland – roughly 105 miles from Baltimore.
The player scratched the ticket and realized it was not a winner.
After playing a round at the golf club, he decided to test his luck one more time and bought a second ticket from Express Lane – a ticket that turned out to be worth $1 million.
The player, however, reported being confused rather than excited about his win.
When he scanned the ticket’s QR code in the convenience store, the screen said $1 million, but the word “million” was also part of the lottery game’s name.
Slightly puzzled, “19th Hole” brought his ticket to the parking lot to scan it again using the Maryland Lottery app.
The message on his phone read “Not a winner” – but that was because the player had scanned the first ticket he bought on accident.
When the Maryland man scanned the correct ticket, the app confirmed that the player had indeed won a winning prize.
He returned to the convenience store to show his luck to the clerk, who was shocked.
A few seconds after the player confirmed his win, he coincidentally received a phone call from his wife who was on her break at work.
“He was stuttering pretty good,” she recounted to lottery officials.
After her husband told her about his $1 million fortune, she was in disbelief and told him a few times, “Shut up!”
The big win came after years of her husband trying his luck on lottery games.
Lucky lottery numbers – fact or fiction?
The U.S. Sun spoke exclusively with professor of mathematics at Davidson College, Tim Chartier, who revealed the truth behind lucky numbers.
Scooping up a jackpot prize in a lottery game such as Powerball or Mega Millions involves correctly guessing a series of numbers.
Many players swear by certain numbers, sticking with digits such as birthdays, anniversaries, or ages – but do these numbers statistically carry the luck that players believe they do?
According to Chartier, they do.
“I think a number is lucky if you have fun playing it and it improves your experience of winning,” he said.
“The big lotteries are, statistically speaking, a chance to dream of being a multi-millionaire or even billionaire. If playing a certain number heightens that experience, then yes!”
However, the lottery expert clarified that aside from the feel-good implications of playing your “lucky numbers,” no number is truly lucky when it comes to the lottery.
“All numbers are equally likely,” said Chartier.
He explained that even though all numbers are equally likely, some may seem to appear more often.
For example, rolling a six-sided die six times does not guarantee that you will roll each number exactly once.
He is “absolutely” a regular scratch-off player, she shared, with the player confirming that he had been buying lottery tickets “since forever.”
“I’ve been more excited for a $1,000 win. This one was more of a shock,” the winner shared when he claimed his prize on May 1.
“19th Hole” plans to invest his prize money while his wife is eyeing an early retirement.
MONEY MADNESS
$1 Million Royale is a $20 scratch-off ticket with 32 opportunities to win and a $1 million top prize.
The game went on sale beginning in July 2023 with seven top prizes up for grabs.
“19th Hole” was the fourth Maryland player to score one of them, leaving three of the $1 million prizes unclaimed as of May 1.
While the probability of winning any prize in the game is one in 3.04, “19th Hole” had to beat much tougher odds to secure his million-dollar win.
Although the prize was advertised as $1 million, the Maryland man did not get to walk away with the entire amount.
According to lottery rules, for prizes exceeding $5,000, there is a 24% withholding for federal taxes and a 8.75% withholding for Maryland state taxes.
In this case, “19th Hole” instantly lost $240,000 to federal taxes and $87,500 to state taxes, totaling $327,500.
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling addiction, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700 or visit the National Council on Problem Gambling online.
Check out these other lucky lottery players who have scooped huge prize amounts.
A long-awaited Mega Millions winner finally claimed their $349 million jackpot – but the “blessed” victor was forced to give away $101.1 million.
Plus, Powerball winner Linda Grizzle broke her silence after landing a $167.3 million win – but she risks losing half of her prize instantly.