CLEMENTS, Md. — A Charlotte Hall waterman who rarely plays the lottery is $77,777 richer after listening to a sudden urge and buying one final scratch-off ticket at a St. Mary’s County gas station.
The man was heading home from work when he stopped at St. Mary’s Gas Station at 23950 Colton Point Road in Clements for a few necessities. What began as a routine errand quickly turned into an unforgettable evening filled with small wins that built to a major jackpot.
He started by purchasing a $2 scratch-off ticket and won $5. “Cool,” he remembers thinking. Encouraged, he bought a $5 ticket and won $15 on that one. He then used those winnings to purchase a $10 game, which led to another $15 win.
“I didn’t want to press my luck, so I was about to leave the store, but then I got the strangest urge to turn around,” the excited player recalled when he claimed his prize April 30 at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. “I bought one more ticket, the Lucky 7s Multiplier.”
That impulse decision paid off handsomely. The $10 Lucky 7s Multiplier ticket turned out to be a $77,777 winner. When he scanned the ticket inside the store, the lottery machine went crazy and displayed a congratulatory message.
“It was nuts,” laughed the winner. “I told the cashier, ‘I think I broke your machine.’”
The cashier laughed back and confirmed that the scratch-off was indeed a $77,777 winner. The player then went home to share the news with his girlfriend.
“He called and told me that he won on a scratch-off game,” she said when she accompanied her boyfriend to claim the prize. “He just didn’t tell me how much.”
When she came home from work, he showed her the winning ticket.
“I was so happy for him,” she said.
The winner, who makes his living as a waterman, said he has no immediate plans for his winnings. Eventually, he said, he will put it toward something good, but for now the entire amount is going into savings.
The $10 Lucky 7s Multiplier game launched in May 2025 with 10 top prizes of $77,777, five of which remain unclaimed. There are also 10 unclaimed prizes at the $10,000 level. Hundreds of thousands of prizes ranging from $10 to $1,000 are still available on the ticket as well.
In addition to the player’s good fortune, the St. Mary’s Gas Station in Clements will receive a $777 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
This feel-good story is a reminder that even casual players in Southern Maryland can experience life-changing luck from an ordinary stop at the corner store. For this humble waterman, a simple decision to turn around transformed an average workday into a memorable celebration of small wins leading to one very big one. The close-knit community of St. Mary’s County often shares such local success stories, bringing smiles and a bit of excitement to residents who know how hard many watermen work on the Chesapeake Bay.
The man’s experience also highlights the ongoing appeal of Maryland Lottery scratch-off games in the region. With several large prizes still available in this particular game, other players across Southern Maryland may be inspired to try their luck while supporting local retailers like the one in Clements. Lottery officials note that such wins not only reward individual players but also generate bonuses for the businesses that sell the tickets, providing a small economic boost to the community.
As the winner processes his good fortune, he and his girlfriend continue to enjoy the moment. Their story serves as an uplifting example of how an everyday Southern Maryland routine can occasionally lead to extraordinary results.
