Man agrees to buy $30 Maryland lottery ticket if clerk turns off music – then wins big
A Maryland Central Exxon store clerk loves go-go tunes.
A former Baltimore police officer, and regular customer of the store, Kenneth Matthew, does not.
The songs made famous by Chuck Brown in 1970s Washington D.C. have sparked “good-natured” discussions between Matthew and the clerk when he comes in to buy his regular lottery tickets.
Normally a fan of the $5 Ravens X5 instant tickets, Matthew had been considering buying a $30 scratch-off as part of the $100,000 Ca$h game, he told Maryland Lottery officials in a Nov. 2 news release.
But for one $30 ticket, he could buy six $5 tickets, so he needed a little convincing.
“When you come in and buy that ticket, I’ll turn the go-go music off,” Matthew remembered the clerk telling him. “It’s the first time I played that card.”
After scratching off the ticket, Matthew used the lottery app to scan the ticket and thought he had won $1,000.
Then his friend gave it another look.
“She said, ‘You know you won more than that,” Matthew told officials.
His deal-making ticket had won the top $100,000 prize.
“It’s a blessing,” Matthew told officials.
Matthew said he had won some prizes before, but “not like this. My biggest win prior to this was $1,000.”
Matthew said he plans to use the winnings to help his daughter pay for college.
The former police officer’s win is just the third win of the game’s 65 top prizes, lottery officials said.
The winning ticket was sold in Capitol Heights, about 7 miles outside downtown Washington, D.C.
Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
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