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Montgomery County resident "Harry" has seen a lifetime worth of close calls playing various Lottery games, but he is feeling lucky after missing out on some huge wins.
"I love scratch-offs," he told Lottery officials, saying that he won $10,000 once, but his luck had since run dry.
Until it didn't.
Choosing to stay anonymous going only by the moniker "Harry's Happy Days," the winner said that he regularly frequents two or three retailers for his tickets, though soon after he put one behind him, the store sold a $1 million winning scratcher.
It actually got worse from there.
Following that disappointment, "Harry," a regular "Pick 4" player, missed out on a draw when his regular numbers: "4444" were picked on "the one day out of the year we didn't play."
However, Lady Luck had different plans in store for the faithful Lottery player.
"Harry" was with his brother in the Mt. Airy area, where he plans to buy a farm, and they made a pitstop at 7-Eleven on Ridgeside Drive during what was described as a "bad day" ... "So I said, 'Let me try the '50Years!' scratch-offs!'"
While his brother was picking up some items at the convenience store, "Harry" realized the windfall he had just won and he called him over. The two then let the world know about the victory.
"He didn't believe me at first," the Maryland accountant mused, though they didn't keep their win a secret. "We were loud about it! We celebrated with everybody in the store.
"(Their day) became 100 percent better," the winner said, though he mentioned he has not told his wife and plans to spring the surprise on her soon as they head into retirement.
One simple win helped turned that frown upside down.
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