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Westminster resident Karl Petro got a grand slam $50,000 prize on a baseball-themed second-chance promotion from Maryland Lottery, officials announced.
This week, Petro was selected as a $50,000 winner in the final drawing of the Lottery’s "Home Run Riches Contestant of the Game Second-Chance" promotion, which ran from March through August as the season winds down for the O's.
The 72-year-old Petro will have plenty of cash to spend on possible playoff tickets after registering his $5 "FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Ticket" through "My Lottery Rewards."
Once entered, there are then "Contestant of the Game" winners, who earn $500 for being chosen and $500 for each Orioles home run during that specific game.
The promotion also includes two $50,000 giveaways, which landed Petro his five-figure prize at the end of the win against the White Sox on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Petro, who works as a consultant in modular construction, said he was dumbfounded when he was first told he was the second winner, and only came to believe he won with a little assist from his brother.
With his newfound cash, Petro earmarked the money for some bills and home improvements, but he's more looking forward to taking a trip to Italy, where he "hopes to connect with his family's roots."
The lifelong baseball fan really hit a homer as he gets to sit back and enjoy the Orioles playoff push as they look to make a postseason run for the first time since losing the 2016 AL Wild Card.
"This core of young prospects and the quiet work of the veteran players has been so exciting to watch this year," Petro said at Lottery Headquarters while collecting his baseball-themed prize. "Gunnar (Henderson), (Jorge) Mateo, Cedric (Mullins), (Austin) Hays, and (Ryan McKenna) – there’s just something really special there."
He specifically highlighted infielder Ryan O'Hearn while musing about the first-place Orioles, who he finds particularly inspiring for his perseverance.
"When he came up, he said to the media, ‘I’m not going back,’ and the determination in him just resonated with me and things in my own life,” Petro said.
While he never was selected as a “Contestant of the Game” during the promotion, it's fair to say he's willing to "settle" for the $50,000 final drawing victory.
"This is amazing and unbelievable for me."
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