A Maryland man is $100,000 richer after his son made an unplanned stop at a 7-Eleven while running errands — and picked up two lottery tickets for his father along the way, according to UPI.
The father, whose name wasn't released by Maryland Lottery officials, said his son mentioned he'd be picking up lottery tickets near the 7-Eleven on Ruby Lockhart Boulevard in Bowie and offered to grab one for him too. The son bought two identical Pick 5 tickets using his dad's go-to number combination, 1-5-6-7-0. Both hit, turning a routine gift into two separate $50,000 top prizes.
"My son was in the neighborhood while he was out running errands. He mentioned that he'd be picking up some lottery tickets, and told me he'd pick one up for me."
— the winner, in a statement released by Maryland Lottery officials
The father told lottery officials he's no stranger to smaller wins but had never landed a top prize before, let alone two in the same trip.
"I was amazed. I've won before, but never like this, never a top prize... and now I had two of them."
— the winner, via Maryland Lottery officials
Pick 5 is one of the Maryland Lottery's straightforward numbers games: players choose five digits, zero through nine, and can win a top prize of $50,000 on a $1 straight bet by matching all five in exact order. The Maryland Lottery publishes a rundown of major winners most weeks, and Pick 5 alone regularly produces multiple five-figure winners around the state — the same week's roundup also included unrelated $50,000 wins in Columbia and St. Mary's County.
The 7-Eleven where the tickets were bought earns a small retailer bonus for selling a top-prize ticket, a standard incentive lottery agencies use to keep stores stocking scratch-offs and drawing games. For the father and son, though, the takeaway was simpler: run an errand for your dad, and maybe don't forget his lucky numbers.