A man has told how he chose a USD 50,000 winning scratch-off lottery ticket by picking one at random with his eyes closed.
Liam Ferns said that he “got a funny feeling” that made him pick the lottery ticket with his eyes closed at the Royal Farms #187, located at 10 Box Hill South Parkway in Abingdon, in the US state of Maryland.
The photograph shows him smiling broadly along with his girlfriend Danielle after he collected his USD 50,000 (GBP 39,346) from the Maryland lottery headquarters.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the Maryland Lottery on Thursday, 10th August, saying: “If the dictionary had an entry defining a happy Lottery winner, Liam Ferns’ photo could appear right beside it. The 48-year-old Aberdeen man excitedly claimed a USD 50,000 top prize on the USD 50,000 Cash scratch-off this week and he could not stop smiling.”
Lottery officials explained: “His decision to purchase a scratch-off game occurred suddenly. It was a hot Sunday, two weeks ago, when Liam decided to take his car for a wash.
“He was feeling a bit thirsty, so he stopped in the Abingdon Royal Farms store next door for a bottle of water. As he walked past the Lottery vending machine, something came over him.”
Liam said: “I just got a funny feeling. So, I went over to the machine, closed my eyes and randomly picked a ticket.”
The statement said: “His finger was in front of the USD 50,000 Cash game, so he purchased it.
“Liam waited to scratch the game until after the car wash and right before vacuuming the interior of his car.
“As he scratched off the surface of the USD 20 game, he got to the fourth row and saw that his matched number revealed a USD 50,000 prize underneath.”
The lucky winner said: “I thought, ‘This has got to be wrong. But, when I scanned it back at the store, it said ‘See Lottery,’ so it had to be right.”
The statement continued: “The Harford County player then headed home to show the lucky scratch-off to Danielle, his long-term girlfriend.”
Danielle said: “We joke with each other all the time. I just knew the ticket was fake, but I was thrilled to find out it wasn’t.”
Lottery officials said: “Liam claimed his USD 50,000 top prize this week. A shift leader at an oil refinery, he plans to retire in about 12 years and said the prize will go into savings to boost his retirement fund.”
