Elijah Stubbs Jr., a U.S. Navy veteran and retiree from Waldorf, Maryland, hit the jackpot when his lucky nickel revealed a $50,000 prize on a Gold X50 scratch-off. Elijah purchases scratch-offs a few times a week at different retailers, and on the day he won, he had stopped at the Waldorf 7-Eleven #32282 on 11575 Berry Road to buy the $10 game.
“I will use a nickel for as long as I can keep it. They usually last about two months before I lose them and have to get a new one,” Elijah said with a smile. But this time, his lucky nickel lasted longer than usual, revealing a big win. Elijah scratched off the first line on the Gold X50 instant ticket and saw that he had won at least $50. He then scratched below the next few lines and was amazed to see that he had won $50,000.
“I looked at it and I won $50,000. I was like, ‘Really!’” the lucky winner told Lottery officials. Elijah, who retired from the U.S. Navy in 1996 and retired again three years ago from the United States Pentagon Police, has not yet decided how he is going to spend the money, but he did mention that his wife has an upcoming birthday.
The Gold X50 scratch-off went on sale on January 23 and is ranked third on the Maryland Lottery’s Top 40 Scratch-off List. A member of a Gold Multiplier family of games, the scratch-off is also part of the Gold Multiplier second-chance promotion. Other members of the scratch-off family are the $1 Gold X5, $2 Gold X10, and $5 Gold X20 games.
Elijah is the Gold X50 game’s fifth $50,000 winner, and players can search for five unclaimed $100,000 top prizes, five more $50,000 prizes, and 19 $10,000 prizes, along with smaller prizes ranging from $10 to $500.
As for Elijah, he said he is using his retirement to enjoy life and get caught up on projects around the house. “I am doing everything I couldn’t do when I was working,” he explained.