A man has won USD 50,000 playing the lottery after buying an extra ticket by mistake.
The 40-year-old man, who has not been named but who is reportedly from Beltsville, in the US state of Maryland, had allocated USD 100 (GBP 80) to play the lottery.
He reportedly spent USD 50 (GBP 40) on his usual draw games, deciding to spend the remaining money on scratch-offs at a 7-Eleven in Burtonsville.
He decided to buy a Hot 777 scratch-off but accidentally bought a second one which turned out to be the winning USD 50,000 (GBP 40,000) ticket.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the Maryland Lottery on Wednesday, 31st May, saying: “What a payday! A Beltsville man found a blend of Lottery luck and player error turned his USD 100 allocation of Lottery games into a USD 50,000 Hot 777 payout.
“The 40-year-old found his lucky Hot 777 scratch-off waiting at 7-Eleven #23691 located at 15585 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville.
“He spent USD 50 on his usual draw games and decided to spend the other USD 50 he had allocated on scratch-offs.”
The statement continued: “The Prince George’s County resident was immediately drawn to the new USD 20 [GBP 16] Hot 777 game and decided to try it. He intended to buy just one but accidentally selected two scratch-offs. The accidentally purchased instant ticket was the USD 50,000 winner.
“He learned of his big win sitting in his car, only moments after leaving the Montgomery County store. The winner immediately took a photo of his lucky scratch-off and sent the photo to his wife.”
The lucky winner told lottery officials that he and his wife of 10 years plan to use the prize money to pay off some debts.
