Out-of-work bus driver’s Christmas lottery ticket wins him money for life in Maryland

An out-of-work bus driver opened his eyes early Christmas morning to see a $10 lottery ticket that won him money for life.

Now, he’ll be paid $1,000 weekly, according to the Maryland Lottery — “dramatically” improving his finances.

Howard Lewis Jr., of Elkton, had to stop working as a bus driver because of the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to buy a Cash4Life ticket on Christmas Eve, a Dec. 29 news release for the state lottery said.

He missed the 9 p.m. drawing that night and went to bed, but had trouble sleeping.

When Lewis woke up at about 3 a.m., he pulled out his phone to check his ticket on the state lottery’s app and that’s when he saw he had all five winning numbers in the drawing, according to the release.

“I nearly dropped my phone,” Lewis said in a statement.

He plans to spend part of his earnings on home improvements and a new pickup truck, the release said.

The Royal Farms convenience store Lewis Jr. bought the lucky ticket from will receive a $2,500 bonus for selling it to him.

Howard Jr. is the third person in the state to win $1,000 weekly for life in 2021, according to the state lottery.

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.