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Howard Lewis Jr., 55, won a life-changing $1,000-a-week-for-life prize in the Dec. 24 drawing, he says the windfall could not have come at a better time as he had to stop working as a bus driver during the COVID-19 pandemic and drained his finances.
The lucky ticket was sold at Royal Farms #096 in North East. Lewis Jr. says he bought one $10 ticket on Christmas Eve, played his own set of numbers, and went on his way. He says he didn't even watch the 9:00 p.m. drawing that night.
But, around 3:00 a.m., Lewis Jr. couldn't sleep and checked his ticket on the Maryland Lottery app on his phone. That's when he discovered he matched all five winning numbers in the drawing.
"I nearly dropped my phone," Lewis Jr. said.
He plans to use some of his winnings for to buy a new pickup truck and to work on home improvement projects.
The lucky retailer also benefits from the sale of the ticket. The store located at 500 Mechanics Valley Road in North East receives a $2,500 bonus from the Lottery for its role in the big win.
Howard is now the third Marylander to win $1,000 a week for life in the Cash4Life game in 2021 and the sixth second-tier Maryland winner since 2016. Cash4Life drawings take place at 9:00 p.m. seven days a week and tickets cost $2 for each line of six numbers.
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