Routine ticket turns into $450K shocker for Maryland man

Montgomery County man wins $450K playing same numbers nine times in one draw

CLARKSBURG, MD – A Montgomery County man is $450,000 richer after sticking with the same five numbers he once used to win just $130 — and this time, he played them nine times in a single Bonus Match 5 drawing, turning a routine lottery habit into a windfall.

The winner, who claimed his prize Tuesday at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, hit all five numbers — 7, 11, 27, 34, and 35 — in the Saturday, January 17 drawing. But instead of a single win, his bulk ticket strategy paid off in a big way: he bought nine identical combinations, earning him nine top prizes of $50,000 each.

He said he began playing the same numbers after they once netted him a modest $130 win. Encouraged by the outcome, he continued to replay the combination — and opted for the maximum nine entries, taking advantage of the game’s volume discount pricing.

“When I realized I won, I thought it was a joke,” the winner told officials. But once the reality set in, he said, the two-day wait to claim his prize due to the Martin Luth...