TV commercial leads Maryland man to $50,000 lottery prize

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A Maryland man said a TV commercial inspired him to buy a Pick 5 lottery ticket -- and he ended up winning a $50,000 prize.

The Edgewood man told Maryland Lottery officials he was watching football on TV when a lottery ad caught his attention.

"You ever have one of those days when everything is going right?" he player said. "I was having one of those days and then I saw a lottery commercial and thought to myself, 'I'm going to play.'"

The man stopped at Geresbeck's Bi-Rite in Baltimore and bought a $1 Pick 5 ticket for Sunday's midday drawing.

He said a friend sent him the winning numbers later in the day.

"When I saw my numbers looking back at me, I thought it was fake," he recalled. "So, I went back to the store to scan the ticket to see that I actually did win."

The ticket earned the player a $50,000 prize.

"I thought he was kidding when he told me," the winner's mother said. "When I saw it was real, I smirked and said, 'What's my cut?'"

The winner said his prize money will go into savings.