Maryland man's $2 Powerball prize leads to $50,000 win

Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A Maryland Lottery player won $2 from a Powerball drawing and decided to use it to buy another ticket, which earned him $50,000.

The Garrett County man told Maryland Lottery officials he stopped at Luke's Liquors on North Third Street in Oakland and used the $2 prize from his Powerball ticket to buy a ticket for the Oct. 21 drawing.

The man scanned his ticket the next day and discovered he had matched four white balls and the Powerball, earning a $50,000 third-tier prize.

"I couldn't believe it," the man said. "I almost won the jackpot, just one number off."

The man took his ticket home, where his wife double-checked the numbers.

"He was so excited that he made himself sick," she recalled.

The winner said he plans to invest his prize money.