Wins $2 million top prize playing Cash Is King game
A Harford County man arrived at Lottery headquarters with a winner’s story that serves as a reminder that we can never know when hard times are going to improve or when a seemingly unimportant decision can change your life.
Last Wednesday found him stopping at Wawa #553 at 709 Bel Air Road for gas and maybe a cup of coffee. Maryland’s newest Lottery multimillionaire admits to being more than a bit down in the dumps that day, having recently closed a restaurant that was a significant focus of his life. As he was about to exit the store, the Bel Air resident saw the Lottery vending machine.
“I buy a ticket every once in a while,” he said. “It’s never a planned thing, usually it’s just when I see a sign or notice the machine.” Immediately after seeing this machine, he realized it wasn’t turned on. Informed by the clerk that the machine was being repaired that very morning, the scratch-off player went about his day. However, his mind kept returning to thoughts of the Lottery purchase he didn’t make.
The errands he ran that day brought him back near Wawa #553. “Maybe it’s because I couldn’t get it earlier, but for some reason, I really wanted that Lottery ticket. I promise you, though, that I had no thought that it would be a winner and certainly not what it turned out to be.”
After scratching off a $30 Cash Is King instant ticket he picked from the now-repaired machine, the lucky player was sure that he was seeing things. “I counted the zeros and was amazed that I’d won $2,000. Then, I counted the zeros again.” The magnitude of the $2 million top-prize win struck him immediately.
“I was overwhelmed,” he said, describing the prize as “a real life changer.” The winner is thinking about using the prize to open a new restaurant in the future and bringing back employees who lost jobs when he went out of business.
Also benefiting from his win is his lucky Lottery retailer. Wawa #553 located at 709 Bel Air Road earns a $2,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling a $2 million top-prize winning scratch-off.
The Cash Is King game debuted last September with five $2 million top prizes. This win is the game’s second. Three more life-changing wins await players, as well as a host of other big-money prizes such as four $50,000 prizes, five $10,000 and six $5,000 winners.
