Lottery player accidentally buys extra scratch-off ticket — and ends up winning big
A Maryland man gave himself a lottery budget. He brought $100 to a 7-Eleven; $50 for draw games, and $50 for scratch-off tickets.
The 40-year-old player decided to try out the new $20 Hot 777 scratch-off game for the first time, intending to buy one ticket, Maryland Lottery officials said in a May 31 news release.
But he accidentally bought two tickets. It was a life-changing mistake.
Moments after leaving the store, he sat in his car and scratched the tickets and saw that the extra one he purchased won him $50,000.
“The winner immediately took a photo of his lucky scratch-off and sent the photo to his wife,” lottery officials said.
The winner and his wife, who have been together for a decade, told lottery officials they were going to use the money to pay off debt.
The man won the first of the Hot 777’s eight $50,000 prizes, and since the launch of the game on April 24, it has quickly risen to the second-most popular game in the Maryland Lottery, officials said.
The winner is from Beltsville, about 10 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Lottery player accidentally buys extra scratch-off ticket — and ends up winning big."
