An Arnold man’s lunch break turned into a life-changing moment last month when a $5 scratch-off ticket netted him a $50,000 top prize — the first claimed on Maryland Lottery’s new THE PRICE IS RIGHT™ game.
The construction worker, a self-described Lottery veteran who has won “more than a few big prizes” over the years, including some exceeding $15,000, said he picked up the ticket while getting lunch at the 7-Eleven at 497 Jumpers Hole Road in Severna Park. He chose the newly released game — which hit shelves Aug. 21 — specifically because it was new. “I like brand new games because all of the big prizes are still available,” he said.
He scratched the ticket right there in the store and was stunned by what he found. “It was so exciting. I tried my best to keep quiet but my friend saw the prize amount and started shouting,” he said. On his way back to the work site, he made a detour home to hand the valuable ticket to his wife for safekeeping. “When I told her what we’d won, she started crying. We were both a mess,” he said.
Even weeks later, when the couple visited Lottery headquarters to formally claim the prize on Sept. 9, they had trouble containing their emotions as they described plans to replace appliances and furniture in their home — upgrades they hadn’t expected to make for several more years.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT™ is a $5 scratch-off, and the Arnold man’s win is the game’s first top-prize claim. Five more $50,000 top prizes remain in circulation, along with eight $5,000 second-tier prizes. The Severna Park 7-Eleven will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The game also includes a second-chance promotion: players can enter non-winning THE PRICE IS RIGHT™ tickets into My Lottery Rewards for a chance at a GAME SHOW EXPERIENCE trip package. Six winners will be selected to receive a five-day, four-night trip for two to Los Angeles, $1,000 in spending money and a group excursion, with a chance to participate in an exclusive Game Show Experience event for a shot at sharing in up to $10 million. Full details on the second-chance promotion are available on the Maryland Lottery’s website.
