Who doesn’t dream of winning the lottery? How many of us have the illusion that, finally, after years of playing, we’ll hit a sum that allows us to solve all our financial problems, go on that vacation, or buy that house on the beach? Luckily, dreaming is free… But the one who won’t have to dream anymore is the lucky winner of the Maryland Lottery in St. Mary’s County, United States, who won a prize of $200,000. He achieved the prize by betting on the Pick 5 game, choosing the numbers from the license plates of the cars around him at a traffic light in Charlotte Hall.
Easy peasy! He bought 4 bets of $1 and played the number 19363, and he won the prize. The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that he doesn’t plan to stop playing and that he will continue betting on the numbers that catch his attention. Like everyone who wins a prize, he already knows how he will spend the prize: to make his dream of renovating his parents’ old house a reality after retiring next year.
How does the Lottery work in the US?
In the United States, as in many other countries, the lottery is a popular form of gambling. In this case, it is managed at the multi-state or state level, and the funds generated from ticket sales are usually allocated to public programs, such as education, infrastructure, or social services. Although the rules change depending on the game or bet, the basis is the same for all states: the player chooses a number (based on what they consider appropriate) and waits for it to match the drawn numbers to win a large cash prize.
There are different types of games, and with them, different prizes. Among the multi-state lotteries, we can find the big prizes, where the amounts range from hundreds to billions of dollars. One of the most popular games is Powerball, where the dynamic requires selecting 5 numbers from 1-69, and another from Powerball, from 1-26. To win, all 6 numbers must be chosen correctly, although there are smaller prizes for matching fewer numbers. Another well-known game is Mega Millions, similar to the previous one, but in this case, you must choose 5 numbers from 1-70 and a Mega Ball, from 1-25. There are other state-level games like Pick 3 and Pick 4, or Scratch Offs.
Strategies in the lottery
What are the strategies you use to choose the number to bet on in the lottery? Choosing the number is one of the most important aspects (considering that randomness is the most important). Some people always play the same number, their lucky number. Others prefer to play with significant dates, like birthdays or anniversaries, while others prefer to leave it all to chance. Whatever your strategy is, it surely has nothing to do with that of the winner of the Maryland Lottery prize.
Maryland Lottery
On August 6th, the life of a lottery player in Maryland in St. Mary’s County changed forever. The man, who preferred to remain anonymous, turned out to be the winner of a $200,000 prize! How did he do it? He perfectly explained to the media with excitement, “I was going to work and I stopped at a red light in Charlotte Hall and noticed the tag on a truck, 19363. And the rest is history. I was gasping for air. I was so happy”. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. He didn’t have to think about birthdays or special dates, he just copied the number of the car in front of him at a traffic light.
He bought 4 $1 tickets for the Pick 5 game for the night of August 6th, and at noon on August 7th, he received the surprise. The lucky one already knows what he will invest that money in: facing his retirement next year, he will fulfill his dream of renovating his parents’ old house. Moreover, he assures that he will continue playing and that the numbers he chooses will still be those that catch his attention.
