BEL AIR, MD – A Bel Air restaurant owner who infrequently plays the lottery hit it big when he won $2 million on a lottery scratch-off ticket.
Last Wednesday, the man, who wished to remain anonymous, stopped into Wawa on Bel Air Road for gas and a coffee and decided to buy a lottery ticket.
A Harford County man arrived at Lottery headquarters with a winner’s story that serves as a reminder that we can never know when hard times are going to improve or when a seemingly unimportant decision can change your life.
“I buy a ticket every once in a while,” he said. “It’s never a planned thing, usually, it’s just when I see a sign or notice the machine.”
This time, he noticed the machine was off and asked the clerk about it. The clerk said the machine was being repaired, so he left the store. But, he couldn’t stop thinking if he had let a chance to win get away from him.
He returned to the store later in the day and this time bought a $30 Cash is King ticket from the machine.
“Maybe it’s because I couldn’t get it earlier, but for some reason, I really wanted that Lottery ticket. I promise you, though, that I had no thought that it would be a winner and certainly not what it turned out to be,” he said.
At first, he was excited, thinking he won $2,000, but quickly realized his winnings were $2,000,000.
After scratching off a $30 Cash Is King instant ticket he picked from the now-repaired machine, the lucky player was sure that he was seeing things. “I counted the zeros and was amazed that I’d won $2,000. Then, I counted the zeros again.” The magnitude of the $2 million top-prize win struck him immediately.
He’s now hoping to use the money to open a new restaurant after his went out of business during the COVID-19 lockdowns. He said he wants to hire his former employees who were also put out by the closures.
Based on information provided by the Maryland Lottery.