Maryland man's lottery strategy earns him a $100,000 prize

A Maryland man won a $100,000 lottery prize thanks to his strategy of always buying scratch-off tickets in pairs. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
June 19 (UPI) -- A Maryland man said sticking to his strategy of always buying scratch-off lottery tickets in pairs led to his winning a $100,000 prize.
The Washington County man told Maryland Lottery officials he considered abandoning his usual technique when a $50 $5,000,000 Fortune scratch-off caught his eye at Wooden Keg Liquors in Hagerstown.
"The most I usually spend on a scratch-off is $20, but I decided to splurge," he said. "The problem is that I always, always, always buy two of the same game. Every time."
The man told lottery officials he decided to stick with his strategy and visited the store with $100 in his pocket.
"I'd been thinking about it for a couple of days, so I was ready," he said.
The player won his money back on his first ticket, but the real surprise came while scratching off the second.
"I kept uncovering $5,000 matches. There were so many of them. They just kept adding up," he said.
The ticket ended up winning a total $100,000.
"Any financial questions I had about my retirement were answered, with enough left over to share," the winner said.

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