Maryland man's persistence pays off with Pick 5 lottery jackpot

July 11 (UPI) -- A Maryland Lottery man who has bought a Pick 5 ticket bearing the same numbers every day since the game began earlier this year had his persistence pay off with a $25,000 prize.

The 70-year-old Baltimore County man told Maryland Lottery officials he has purchased a Pick 5 ticket every day since the game started in February, and his tickets always bear the numbers 2-2-5-5-2.

"It's my birthday," he said of the numbers' significance. "As soon as Pick 5 started, I knew I had to play. I've always liked these five numbers together for some reason, so I knew the game was meant for me."

The man said he was shocked when the ticket he bought from Ingleside Liquors in Catonsville turned out to be a big winner in the July 1 drawing.

"I walked into the living room just as the Pick 5 drawing was happening on TV," he said. "I saw each number come up, the two 2s, then the two 5s and the last 2 -- each in the exact order. I couldn't believe it."

The ticket earned the man a $25,000 prize.

"I've not been able to sleep much since I won. I've been excited and anxious to get the claiming process under way and finished. I'm afraid I've kept my wife up many of these nights," he said.

The winner said the prize money will allow him to make it up to his wife.

"Our 25th wedding anniversary is coming up soon," he said. "I told her to pick where she wanted to go and I'd make it happen."