Lucky player claims top prize on Hot 7s Multiplier game
A Western Maryland man whose favorite games are scratch-offs said he always keeps an eye out for new and newer games. Like one of his cats hunting prey, he carefully tracks odds for winning top prizes on specific scratch-offs as well as how many big wins are left on an instant ticket.
This loyal player knew all about the Hot 7s Multiplier scratch-off before he even stepped into K&S Liquors in Rawlings. The game is part of a “Hot” family of scratch-off games and offered eight $100,000 top prizes, with six remaining. It also has 24 $10,000 second-tier prizes.
The Allegany County resident bought three of the $10 scratch-offs at the store and scanned the barcode to see if they were winners. “I scanned them in the car,” he said. “I didn’t know what the prize was.” He decided to scratch the rest of the tickets at home.
He and his wife were together when he revealed the top prize. “I said, ‘Look at this,’” he recalls telling her. She did and the pair are still talking about what fun things they can do with the newfound fortune in addition to giving their cats some extra special treats.
The winner and his wife were actually the second pair to claim the top prize in the game Friday at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. A College Park area woman arrived about an hour earlier to claim the first top prize.
His lucky retailer is a winner, too. K&S Liquors at 25207 McMullen Highway in Allegany County earns a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling a top-prize winning scratch-off in the game.
