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"Happy Birthdays!" as he will forever be known, is celebrating after winning a $50,000 "Bonus Match 5" top prize by using the birthdays of he and his family members.
The retired 61-year-old firefighter - who decided to remain anonymous - explained to Lottery officials that he played the same three lines of numbers for 20 years, which are the combinations of different birthdays of family members.
It took two decades, but the strategy finally paid off big time for the Pasadena resident.
Over the years, "Happy Birthdays!" said that he has seen limited success, matching four of five numbers and "Bonus Ball" in drawings, but he never hit the jackpot until earlier this month.
Officials said that he saw the results of his big win on the Maryland Lottery App, but had to wait to watch the drawing online the following day for confirmation.
"I was in shock. I didn’t want to say anything to my daughter because she had to go to work the next day, but it was hard to keep it a secret," he mused.
With $50,000 fresh in his pocket, the Lottery player says that he plans to use it to pay off his home mortgage and then the rest will be earmarked for other improvement projects around the house.
He said that despite his big win, he's not rushing off into Lottery retirement, with big plans to keep playing "Keno" and "Bonus Match 5" with his lucky numbers.
"I am going to continue to play," he added with a smile. "I am waiting for the other lines to come out."
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