Wife loses interest checking husband’s lottery tickets — until she looks over one more

Whenever the Maryland man buys lottery tickets, he doesn’t check them right away.

Instead, he lets the anticipation grow throughout the day, waiting until after he puts his toddler to bed to check them, Maryland Lottery officials said in a May 23 news release.

When he was younger, he was “a casino guy who enjoyed trips to Las Vegas,” lottery officials said.

But now with a toddler and baby on the way, he told lottery officials he plays lottery games as a way of “relaxing at the end of the day.”

“Sometimes he wins a few dollars, sometimes nothing,” lottery officials said. “But on May 18, things were different.”

On his way to work, lottery officials said the Gaithersburg man picked up four $5 Lightning Cash tickets at a Liberty gas station in Damascus.

To win, players need to reveal at least 15 lighting bolts, officials said.

Checking his tickets after his toddler was fast asleep, the man found his first ticket “had 15 bolts for a $10 win.”

While the next two tickets weren’t winners, lottery officials said the last ticket “seemed to have more lightning bolts than any of the previous tickets.”

Turns out, there were 22 bolts, landing him the game’s top prize of $50,000.

The man had his mother-in-law check his ticket, confirming he had won, officials said.

Then, the man told lottery officials he gathered three of his tickets and asked his wife to check them.

As she checked the first two, lottery officials said she started to lose interest.

“But then she counted the bolts on the third and said, ‘Oh my God,’” according to lottery officials.

Although the man is a regular player, he told lottery officials this was his “first really big win.”

The man told lottery officials he plans to spend his prize money paying down his student loans, as well as to “set up education funds for his kids.”

Damascus is about a 40-mile drive west from Baltimore.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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