ABERDEEN, MD – Liam Ferns, a 48-year-old man from Aberdeen, experienced great excitement as he claimed a $50,000 top prize on the $50,000 Cash scratch-off this week, and his smile was impossible to contain.
His decision to purchase a scratch-off game happened unexpectedly.
Liam decided to get his car washed on a hot Sunday two weeks ago. Feeling thirsty, he stopped by the Abingdon Royal Farms store next door to buy a water bottle
. As he passed the Lottery vending machine, he felt a sudden urge.
“I just got a funny feeling,” the lucky winner shared. “So, I went over to the machine, closed my eyes, and randomly picked a ticket.” His finger happened to land on the $50,000 Cash game, so he went ahead and purchased it.
Liam patiently waited to scratch the game until after the car wash, just before vacuuming the interior of his car. As he scratched off the surface of the $20 game, he reached the fourth row and discovered that his matched number revealed a $50,000 prize beneath it.”I thought, ‘This has got to be wrong,'” he recalled. “But, when I scanned it back at the store, it said ‘See Lottery,’ so it had to be right.”Excited about his newfound fortune, the Harford County resident headed home to show the fortunate scratch-off to Danielle, his long-term girlfriend.”We tease each other all the time,” mentioned Danielle, who accompanied Liam to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim the prize. “I was convinced the ticket was fake, so I was overjoyed to discover it wasn’t.”This week, Liam claimed his $50,000 top prize. Currently working as a shift leader at an oil refinery, he intends to retire in about 12 years and plans to add the prize money to his retirement fund.
Sharing in Liam’s good luck is the store where he bought the winning instant ticket. Royal Farms #187, located at 10 Box Hill South Parkway in Abingdon, receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery. The bonus is equal to 1% of the prize and given for selling a $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off.