Texas truck driver wins lottery thanks to snack stop - but faced huge dilemma claiming prize

A Texas truck driver was thrilled when a snack stop during the job saw him become a lottery winner .

The married father of three was driving through Maryland last month when he made a pitstop that left him $50,000 richer after he purchased Powerball and Mega Millions tickets alongside his snacks before getting back on the highway. The dad used a combination of family birthdays and random numbers when he bought lottery games that included two Powerball tickets for the July 15 drawing.

He then put the tickets away and headed home for Texas. It wasn't until three days and more than 1,700 miles that he found out he'd won a third-tier prize.

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“I was on the road again and decided to check my tickets on the Powerball website,” he told Maryland lottery officials.

“I saw my matching numbers and knew it was something, but wasn’t sure how much.” The San Benito man called his son to help him check the numbers.

“He said, ‘Dad, you almost won the jackpot,’” recalled the winner. “But then, he told me it was $50,000.” The player matched four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000.

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He immediately got all of his family members on a group call to tell them the happy news. But the dad faced a big dilemma when it came to claiming his prize.

Powerball rules state that a winning ticket must be cashed in the same state that it was purchased in. That would mean returning all the way to Maryland for the Texas winner.

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Luckily, the truck driver's managers arranged a work route that would take him through Maryland again after he explained the situation to them. He made an appointment to claim his prize which coincided with the work trip.

This time, he brought his wife along for the ride. “We are so excited for him,” she said.

The lottery player also revealed his win came just weeks after he managed to match four numbers on a different Powerball ticket. He said he plans to put his $50,000 prize into his retirement fund.