83-year-old lottery player ‘couldn’t believe’ big win — so he had wife and son check

An 83-year-old retired electrician needed his wife and son to double-check his lottery ticket after winning a huge prize.

The man stopped for gas on Aug. 15 in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, and bought a Fast Play Big Money Doubler game for $5, the Maryland Lottery said in an Aug. 22 news release.

Then he realized he won the $117,175 jackpot.

“I couldn’t believe it. I had to look at it again and showed it to my wife and son to confirm, and we all celebrated,” the man, who was not identified in the release, told lottery officials.

He said his wife already made a list of things for the couple to buy with their prize money.

And he plans to keep playing the lottery.

Charlotte Hall is about 70 miles south of Baltimore.

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.