BALTIMORE, Md. — A Baltimore HVAC technician’s routine stop at a local retailer turned into a life-changing moment last week when he won $50,000 on a Gold Bar Bingo scratch-off ticket.
The city resident, who prefers to remain anonymous, had stopped at Normandy Wine & Spirits in Ellicott City on a hot day to cash a previous winning Lottery ticket and purchase a cold beverage. While at the store, he noticed the Gold Bar Bingo 5th Edition scratch-off, a game he regularly plays. Without much thought, he bought a ticket, tucked it away, and continued with his day.
“I’ve done really well with this one. I get one whenever I see it,” the winner told Lottery officials.
It wasn’t until the next day that he realized just how fortunate his latest purchase had been. After initially missing the win during his first scratch, he scanned the ticket using the Maryland Lottery app and was stunned to discover it was a $50,000 top-prize winner.
“I scratched it and didn’t see the win, but just to be sure, I scanned it with my Lottery app,” he recounted. “That’s when I saw that I’d forgotten to count the ‘free space’ on one of my bingo cards. A $50,000 win? Good Lord, I was blown away.”
The windfall couldn’t have come at a better time for the winner, who plans to use the money to pay off bills and cover medical expenses. “This is a big, big deal for my family. It’s come at just the right moment for us,” he said.
The Gold Bar Bingo 5th Edition game, which went on sale in July, still has seven $50,000 top prizes and nine $10,000 second-tier prizes remaining. Normandy Wine & Spirits, located at 8492 Baltimore National Pike, will receive a $500 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
