Clerk's mistake nets Maryland man a $580,000 lottery prize

Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A Maryland man won a $580,000 prize from a lottery ticket he only purchased because of a clerk's mistake.

The Upper Marlboro man told Maryland Lottery officials he visited the Campus Way Exxon in Upper Marlboro with the intention of buying some Cash4Life tickets.

"I gave him the money and said, 'I want to buy five Cash4Life tickets,'" the player recalled. "The attendant made a mistake and gave me a Multi-Match ticket instead. I was like, 'Oh, a new guy.' He was so apologetic."

The player decided to accept the ticket, and a few days later discovered he had won a $580,000 prize from the Multi-Match drawing. The man said he stopped to double-check his luck.

"On the way home from work that night, I stopped by the retailer and scanned it. I took a picture of the message to prove it was true," he said.

The winner's wife said it took the photo of the winning message to convince her it wasn't a prank.

"If anyone deserves this, it is him," she said. "He is a hard-working man, a good husband and a good father."

The couple said the money will allow them to pay off their child's college loan and start a new family-run healthcare business to focus on helping geriatric patients.