Lottery winner was inspired by license plate he saw on long drive to work in MD
A Maryland man has plenty of time to let his mind wander on his 140-mile roundtrip commute to work.
Recently, as he was stuck at a red light on his way to work, something caught his eye — a “chance sighting” that led to a big lottery prize, Maryland Lottery officials said in an Aug. 18 news release.
“I noticed the tag on a truck, 19363,” the player told lottery officials.
The numbers stuck with him.
He played the combination of numbers on a handful of Pick 5 tickets: “four $1 straight bets and four $1 boxed bets for the Aug. 6 evening drawing and the Aug. 7 midday,” lottery officials said.
As he checked his tickets he bought from a Loveville liquor store for the evening drawing, he found no winners; however, when he checked his tickets for the next day’s drawing, something caught his attention, lottery officials said.
“That number looks familiar,” the man recalled thinking to himself.
Turns out, it was his combination of numbers; he won $200,000.
“I was gasping for air,” he told lottery officials. “I was so happy!”
With retirement plans set for about a year from now, the winner said he already has plans for his winnings.
“I’m going to renovate the old house,” he said, adding that it was his childhood home.
He also has one more celebratory purchase in mind.
“Oh, I’m going to get a crab cake,” he told lottery officials.
Loveville is about an 80-mile drive south from Baltimore.
This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Lottery winner was inspired by license plate he saw on long drive to work in MD."
