Painter tells wife ‘you aren’t going to believe it’ when he sees big lottery win in MD

A painter scored a big lottery prize in Maryland — then immediately called his wife to share the news.

“Honey, you aren’t going to believe it. I won $50,000!” Timothy Johnston recalled to Maryland Lottery officials.

Johnston, a painter, stopped at a store in Aberdeen on his way to work to buy some lottery tickets, the lottery office said in a Jan. 4 news release.

He bought two scratch-offs and another $1 game, then took his dogs to a park, lottery officials said.

Once at the park, Johnston scratched one of the Bonus Cash Doubler tickets and won $5. Then he scratched the second ticket and saw $50,000.

One of his dogs nearly wandered off when he realized the win, lottery officials said.

Johnston shared the news with his wife, and now he has plans to buy a new dishwasher.

Aberdeen is about 35 miles northeast of Baltimore.

This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Painter tells wife ‘you aren’t going to believe it’ when he sees big lottery win in MD."

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.