ABERDEEN, Md. — A Pennsylvania real estate professional made an unexpected fortune while tending to his lawn, discovering a $50,000 Maryland Lottery prize scratched by family members while he mowed the grass.
Ralph DiGuiseppe III, who frequently travels for work, picked up a few scratch-off tickets in April during a stop at the Maryland House Travel Plaza off I-95 in Aberdeen. He left the tickets unsolved for weeks until his collection grew large enough to catch his attention.
DiGuiseppe, who lives in Pennsylvania, said he regularly buys tickets on the road but doesn’t scratch them right away. On a recent weekend, with his lawn in need of mowing and relatives visiting, he handed the stack of tickets to his family while he went outside.
The noise of the mower kept him from hearing the commotion building inside his home. He said a group of relatives came running out, and only once he turned off the machine could he hear what they were shouting.
The winning ticket, part of Maryland Lottery’s $10 Ice game, carried a $50,000 prize — one of several second-tier winnings still available since the game’s April launch.
$10 Ice game still holds top prizes
The Ice scratch-off ticket has six $100,000 top prizes, four of which remain unclaimed. It also features nine total second-tier prizes of $50,000, with five still in circulation following DiGuiseppe’s win.
DiGuiseppe claimed his prize on Thursday and confirmed plans to keep playing the Lottery during future trips through Maryland. The Maryland House Travel Plaza is located at Mile Marker 82 on I-95 in Aberdeen and features a full-service vending machine.
He said he now has a new reason to stop there — whether or not he’s hungry.
