A man from Maryland won $500,000 on the state Lottery using the numbers from the license plate of a driver who cut him off on the highway.
The man from Glen Burnie, in Anne Arundel County, around 40 miles south of Baltimore, purchased 10 tickets with the same numbers. The selection was a $50,000 winner, so 10 tickets totaled a $500,000 win.
The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, explained some of his plans for the windfall to Lottery officials. He plans to give a significant sum to his elderly mother, pay off some debts, and then invest the remainder.
The Incident
In late December, the Maryland resident was driving on the highway when another driver cut him off.
Instead of getting angry on the road, the man memorized the numbers from the other driver’s license plate. And then, despite being only an occasional Lottery player, he decided to play the numbers in the Pick 5 game that night.
On his way home, he stopped off at Doc’s F&B Liquors in his hometown of Glen Burnie. There he bought 10 $1 tickets for the Maryland Lottery’s Pick 5 game – all with the same numbers, courtesy of the inconsiderate driver.
That decision paid off overnight, when all five of those numbers came up in the Pick 5 drawing. With 10 tickets, he multiplied the top prize win by 10 for a total of $500,000.
“I figure if you’re going to play, you should play big,” he said, speaking to the Maryland Lottery after the win.
License Plate Winners
Doc’s F&B Liquors in Glen Burnie also received a cool $5,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the 10 winning tickets.
This isn’t the first case of a Maryland lottery winner using a car license plate to inspire their lucky numbers.
In September 2023, a Baltimore woman decided to get a new license plate number because the autogenerated 91104 number irritated her. However, during the delay in getting a new one, she claimed the number 91104 began appearing in her daily life regularly.
So, she decided to play the numbers on the Pick 5 Lottery. After eight attempts over two months, it paid off with a $50,000 win.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
