Powerball player turns to Google to learn what his lottery win means. ‘I geeked out’

A Maryland man normally saw a message that said, ‘Sorry, play again’ when he scanned his lottery tickets.

This time was different.

The contractor from Anne Arundel County checks his tickets on Mondays to learn if he’s won, Maryland Lottery officials said in a Dec. 12 news release.

When he checked this time, instead of telling him to play again, the machine said, “See lottery.”

“I geeked out and went out to my truck to Google ‘What does this mean, See Lottery,’” he told lottery officials.

He learned the message normally means the player has won a prize too big to collect at that location. Upon further investigation, he learned he won a third-tier Powerball prize of $50,000.

The father of two beat the 1-in-913,000 odds Dec. 9 after playing the same numbers for about five years, according to lottery officials.

He matched four out of five white balls and the Powerball, missing the final number.

He went to work and told his business partner he won. Then he called his wife.

“She freaked,” he said.

He told lottery officials he plans to use the money to pay bills. He’s also not giving up on winning a lottery jackpot.

The prize for the Dec. 13 Powerball drawing is estimated at $500 million, the Maryland Lottery says.

What to know about Powerball

To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1-in-292,201,338.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.