Turns out his luck hasn't run out

By Kate Northrop

SALISBURY, Md. — A retired utility worker experienced intense déjà vu this past week when he won a $2 million top prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket for the second time.

A Salisbury resident is reliving one of his luckiest moments after winning $2 million on a Maryland Lottery scratch-off ticket, just like he did in 2018.

While running his usual morning errands, the lottery enthusiast stopped at one of his favorite retailers, the Exxon gas station on North Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury, and picked out two tickets from the "$2,000,000 Richer" instant game, which is now discontinued. After that, he went back to his car to scratch them off.

His first ticket did not land him a $2 million prize, but it was a winner for $100. With that, he moved on to the second, which was the biggest shock of all.

While the player was looking for matching numbers, he came across something even better — a "Gold Bar" symbol over a $2 million prize.

However, the 65-year-old was not in any rush to claim his winnings and was instead taking extra precautions. He won the prize during the height of the pandemic, and so he took great care in stashing the ticket in a safe spot at home and waited until days before the last date to claim his prize.

"I was just a bit nervous," the anonymous man told the Lottery. "I worried that I could have a fire [at home] that would burn it up, that the ticket's expiration date might come up and even had just a bit of doubt that it was really real."

Now that he claimed his prize, those worries are long gone. He says he'll put his second windfall toward a family vacation and will use it to finance his retirement and home improvements.

Back in 2018, the winner had a similar reaction to winning $2 million for the first time — he was so nervous he didn't tell his wife about the win until the next day, and even she was doubtful that it was real.

"She doesn't really play and didn't quite understand," the retiree told the Lottery in 2018. "I had to do some more research myself, to make sure it was real."

He was convinced that the winning "$2,000,000 Mega Bucks" ticket he bought for $30 at the Eagle Express Mart on North Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury was a sort of "prank card."

He remained doubtful up until the very moment the win was confirmed at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore.

Now looking back on the experience of winning the lottery twice, the Wicomico County man offered some advice for those looking to check a lottery win off their bucket list as well.

"Be realistic and make sure that when you play that you aren't just playing for the big jackpot," the winner said. "Play for enjoyment and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, win or lose, you've already won."