BALTIMORE, MD—Six people who work for a home products company in Baltimore didn’t hit the jackpot, but they’re splitting a big prize after matching all but one number in the November 6 Powerball drawing. Because they added the Power Play option to the ticket, they doubled their third-tier $50,000 prize to $100,000! Adding Double Play to the ticket gave them an additional $7.
The group’s representative, who claimed the prize on November 12 at Maryland Lottery headquarters, carried a knapsack with him and joked, “That’s to put the money in.” As a practical matter, Maryland Lottery prizes of this size are paid by check.
The group started its team play with more members about three years ago and hit early on for $1,500. They split that prize and several members dropped out. The remaining six co-workers in the pool are regulars who play the same numbers every drawing. They add the Power Play feature, which multiplies non-jackpot prizes by a randomly selected factor from 2 to 10. For this winning ticket, they also added the Double Play feature. With Double Play, the set of numbers on a ticket could win in the regular jackpot drawing or in a second drawing that has a top prize of $10 million.
Since forming, the group has won two- and three-digit prizes, which the co-workers typically reinvest into more Powerball tickets in hopes of hitting big. The group’s leader, who claimed this prize, said his colleagues have practical plans for their share of the big win.
The Baltimore resident also noted that he made quite a commotion in the store where he checked the ticket when it flashed up the amount of the prize. The group, which purchased the winning ticket at US Fuel, located at 6100 Moravia Park Drive (21206), plans to continue playing in hopes of scoring a life-changing jackpot, he said.
