Maryland man's coffee stop ends with $57,777 lottery jackpot

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A Maryland man who stopped into a convenience store for a cup of coffee said some fellow customers inspired him to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket that won a $57,777 top prize.

The 49-year-old Hyattsville man told Maryland Lottery officials he only intended to buy some coffee when he stopped at the 7-Eleven store in Silver Spring, but he was intrigued when he saw several other customers buying scratch-off lottery tickets.

"I usually play Powerball and Mega Millions," the man said, "but today I saw the Lucky 7s scratch-offs and I thought, 'Well, I might get lucky!'"

The man said he scratched off his tickets in the store and discovered he was a $57,777 top prize winner. He said he used the scanner to confirm his prize and quietly left the store without telling anyone.

He said he kept the prize a secret until after he finished his day's work as an electrician.

The winner said he plans to send some of the money to his mother in El Salvador, and the rest will go toward investing in his electrician business, saving for retirement and putting a down payment on a house.