Winner almost misplaced winning ticket

By Kate Northrop

DUNDALK, Md. — One Maryland lottery player bought a cheaper lottery ticket to appease his wife, and after nearly misplacing it, ended up winning a $1.045 million Fast Play jackpot.

A Maryland man's decision to purchase a less expensive lottery ticket may have been what landed him a $1.045 million Fast Play progressive jackpot.

A Dundalk resident was out with his friends at Squire's Restaurant on Holabird Avenue in Dundalk when he had a choice to make: should he buy the $20 or $30 Fast Play ticket?

As a regular lottery player, he had been pondering buying the more expensive ticket but considered that his wife could get irritated from such a large instant purchase. The man, dubbed "Extreme Green Dream" for the sake of his anonymity, decided to play it safe and scale back to the $20 "Extreme Green" Fast Play game.

Once the ticket printed off, he looked it over.

"I looked at it, and my eyes rolled back in my head!" the winner told the Maryland Lottery.

The ticket revealed that he had won the Fast Play progressive jackpot totaling $1,045,588. It was his personal best since he won a $1,500 prize on a Keno ticket.

"When I first got it, I went crazy," the winner recalled.

A woman who worked at the restaurant advised him to sign the ticket, and the winner then proceeded to call his wife, who would certainly be happier about the purchase than previously thought. However, he gave himself a bit of a scare upon returning home.

"When he came home, he couldn't find the ticket," his wife recounted. Amid the fervor and excitement, he realized he had left his wallet on the center console in his car, and all was right with the world.

"Extreme Green Dream" visited Lottery headquarters in Baltimore on Monday to claim the prize. Although he is retired, he continues to work so that he "has something to do," the Lottery said. At this time, he has "no lifestyle changes in mind." He'll continue working and playing the lottery for fun since he "enjoys the thrill of it."

The retailer receives a bonus of $1,000 for selling the winning ticket.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Dundalk Lottery enthusiast "Extreme Green Dream" became an instant millionaire when he bought a Fast Play Extreme Green progressive jackpot ticket and won $1,045,588.