Maryland man’s wife stops him from handing over $50,000 lottery ticket
John Hamilton Jr. nearly used a scratch-off to settle a $40 debt before his wife stepped in, Maryland Lottery officials said.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
A $40 debt nearly cost a Maryland man a $50,000 lottery prize, until his wife made the save at the exact right moment, according to Maryland Lottery officials.
John Hamilton Jr. of Cumberland told lottery officials he had bought a $5,000,000 LUXE scratch-off ticket for $50 at the Sheetz store on McMullen Highway in Cresaptown. After buying it, he put the ticket in his back pocket and soon forgot it was there, the Maryland Lottery said.
The ticket came back into the picture the next day when Hamilton crossed paths with a friend. Hamilton told officials he remembered the scratch-off in his pocket and offered it to the man as payment for a $40 debt.
Hamilton said he even warned the friend that the ticket might have value. “I told him it could be something on it,” he told Maryland Lottery officials.
Then came the interruption that changed the whole story. Hamilton said his wife stepped in before the ticket changed hands.
“She put her hand between us and intercepted the play,” Hamilton told officials. “That's when I thought I should play it and see if it really was a winner.”
The scratch-off was, in fact, a winner. Maryland Lottery officials said the ticket was worth $50,000.
Hamilton’s reaction was short and clear. “I was dumbfounded,” he told officials.
The near-miss turned into a tidy family payday. Hamilton told the Maryland Lottery he plans to use the winnings for a Disney cruise with his family and to reduce his mortgage.
UPI reported the win Wednesday, citing the Maryland Lottery’s account of Hamilton’s close call. The lottery identified the game as $5,000,000 LUXE and said the winning ticket was purchased at the Cresaptown Sheetz location.
The story lands squarely in the lottery’s favorite category: the ticket someone almost lost, gave away or forgot, only to discover later it was worth real money. In Hamilton’s case, the difference between a $40 debt payment and a $50,000 prize was his wife’s quick hand.
This story draws on original reporting from UPI.