Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A Maryland man who won a $50,000 lottery prize said the winning ticket nearly ended up being thrown in the trash before he realized it was a winner. The 50-year-old Waldorf man, who chose to remain anonymous, told Maryland Lottery officials he bought a Fast Play Lucky Numbers ticket from the US Fuel gas station in Waldorf and initially believed it to be a losing ticket. Advertisement "I almost balled it up and threw it out, but before I did, I scanned the ticket with the lottery's app while sitting in my car," the winner recalled. The man discovered that a bonus game at the bottom of the ticket had earned him a $50,000 prize. He said the first thing he did was call his family to share the news. "I was shaking when I told them," he said. The winner said the prize money will help him find a new home or apartment. Read More Stop for gas earns Maryland woman a $50,000 lottery prize Australians win $733,000 lottery jackpot while on vacation Missouri man's 'random' lottery numbers pay off after several years