ELTON, MARYLAND – A Christmas Eve Cash4Life ticket purchase brings good fortune to Elkton man
A Cash4Life ticket bought on Christmas Eve put a sidelined bus driver on the road to good fortune. Cecil County’s Howard Lewis Jr. won a life-changing $1,000-a-week-for-life prize in the Dec. 24 drawing.
The timing of his lucky windfall couldn’t be better. The 55-year-old said he had to stop working as a bus driver during the COVID-19 pandemic so the prize will dramatically improve his finances.
His decision to play Cash4Life that night came as he visited Royal Farms #096 in North East. Howard plays Lottery games about once a week and typically tries his luck with jackpot games. However, on Christmas Eve, the Elkton resident decided to try his luck with the Cash4Life game. He bought one $10 ticket, played his own set of numbers and went on his way. He didn’t watch the 9 p.m. drawing that night.
However, around 3 a.m., Howard was awake and couldn’t sleep. He decided to check his ticket using the Maryland Lottery app on his phone. Shocked, the Marylander realized one of the lines on his ticket matched all five winning numbers in the drawing. His ticket had only failed to match the Cash Ball number. “I nearly dropped my phone,” the lucky player said.
Much later on Christmas Day, Howard phoned his sister and niece to share his happy news. He plans to use some of his winnings for home improvement projects and a new pickup truck.
His lucky retailer also benefits from the sale of the ticket. The store located at 500 Mechanics Valley Road in North East receives a $2,500 bonus from the Lottery for its role in the big win.
Howard is the third Marylander to win $1,000 a week for life in the Cash4Life game in 2021 and the sixth second-tier Maryland winner since 2016, when the Maryland Lottery began selling the game. Cash4Life drawings take place at 9 p.m. seven days a week and tickets cost $2 for each line of six numbers.