A Delmar, Maryland, man, bought a losing scratch-off lottery ticket before playing a round of golf, and ended up becoming a millionaire afterward anyway.
That’s because the man, who’s going by the name “19th Hole” in order to remain anonymous, bought another ticket after his round from the Express Lane convenience store store at 4912 Snow Hill Road in Salisbury, and that “$1 Million Royale” ticket turned out to be contain the grand prize, according to a news release from the Maryland Lottery.
When he scanned the ticket’s QR code at the store, the screen said “$1 million,” but he was confused at first, since the word “million” is part of the ticket’s name.
So he took the ticket to the parking lot and used the Maryland Lottery mobile app on his phone to scan the ticket again.
“Not a winner,” the screen read.
But he had scanned the ticket he’d purchased before his golf round, according to the news release. When he checked the right ticket, the app confirmed he’d won the top prize of $1 million.
“I’ve been more excited for a $1,000 win. This one was more of a shock,” 19th Hole said at Maryland Lottery headquarters after claiming his prize on the $20 ticket.
Just seconds after confirming his win, he got a call from his wife.
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“He was stuttering pretty good,” she told the Maryland Lottery.
The man said he’s a regular scratch-off player, and plans to invest the winnings so he and his wife can retire early.
The Express Lane store got $1,000 for selling the winning ticket.
The “$1 Million Royale” ticket went on sale starting in July of 2023 with seven $1 million top prizes, and “19th Hole” was the fourth person to win one of them, leaving three of the $1 million prizes still unclaimed as of May 1, along with two prizes at the $50,000 level, 29 prizes of $10,000 and thousands of others ranging from $20 to $5,000.
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