Across the country, there are approximately 301,123 heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) professionals providing their services — but only one of them would purchase a winning Powerball ticket worth $1 million earlier this month.
According to a Jan. 13 CBS Baltimore article, the lucky HVAC employee in question was a Worcester County father of four who purchased the ticket at a Food Lion in Berlin.
The man, who chose to remain anonymous, said he had actually stopped into the Food Lion in search of affordable limes after a previous store’s limes were too expensive. With the chance at the then-$900 million Powerball jackpot looming, the man purchased a Powerball Quick-pick ticket along with his limes. The $6 ticket just so happened to be worth $1 million.
“I was numb,” he said about the moment he realized he’d won. As the night went on, he stayed quiet, pacing through his house and thinking about the difference the prize would make. “I didn’t want to wake [my wife] up. I checked my numbers, unfortunately, because I didn’t sleep well.”
When his wife woke up at 4:30 a.m., he told her he’d won. The rest is history for the HVAC professional and his family.
The Worcester County winning ticket was one of just 28 second-tier Powerball winners nationwide from the Jan. 9 drawing, which took place ahead of the record-smashing $1 billion Powerball jackpot. Of those 28 tickets, two had added the Power Play option to their tickets, which doubled their winnings to $2 million.
The Maryland Lottery reported that the man plans to use his cash prize to pay off his children’s college loans and other family debts — and that he and his wife will decide how to enjoy the remaining money at a later point.
And since it sold the winning second-tier ticket, the Berlin Food Lion is also getting a reward: a $2,500 bonus from the Maryland lottery.
