A man from Maryland, who recently claimed a $50,000 lottery prize, revealed he almost gifted the winning scratch-off ticket to a friend.

According to the Maryland Lottery, Air Force veteran John Hamilton Jr. from Cumberland visited their Baltimore headquarters on July 21 to claim his $50,000 windfall from a winning ticket in the $5,000,000 LUXE game.

The ticket was confirmed as one of the 12 prizes of $50,000 available in the scratch-off game that launched in February 2026. Hamilton shared that he was close to giving away this winning ticket.

On July 4, Hamilton ran into a friend, recalling that he owed him $40. He had recently bought the $50 scratch-off ticket the day before at the Sheetz gas station located at 14606 McMullen Highway in Cresaptown. He offered the ticket to his friend to settle his debt, but his wife intercepted.

Wife Prevents $50,000 Loss

Hamilton informed his friend that the scratch-off could potentially be worth much more than the $40 debt. Just then, his wife stepped in to halt the exchange.

“She placed her hand between us and intervened. At that moment, I realized I should scratch it and see if it was indeed a winner,” Hamilton recounted.

Later, while sitting in his car, Hamilton began to scratch off the LUXE diamonds. Before completing the ticket, he noticed he had won $50,000.

Anxious, Hamilton returned to the Sheetz where he bought the ticket.

“I showed [the cashier] and asked if it was real, and she replied, ‘It looks like it,’ and suggested I scratch off the remainder,” Hamilton described.

The cashier scanned the ticket and confirmed that it was a third-tier winner of $50,000. The top prize for the LUXE game is $5 million, with the second-tier prize at $200,000.

Currently, there are two LUXE scratch-off tickets worth $5 million, eight worth $200,000, and nine at $50,000 still in circulation. These figures may include tickets sold but yet to be claimed.

Lottery Excitement Ramps Up

This weekend is filled with excitement for lottery enthusiasts, as the Mega Millions drawing scheduled for tonight, July 24, has an estimated jackpot of $743 million. The one-time cash option stands at $323.4 million.

On Saturday (July 25), the Powerball jackpot is projected to be $600 million, with a cash value of $262.8 million.

Mega Millions has gone without a jackpot winner for 129 days since the last win on March 17, 2026, while Powerball has seen 83 days without a winner since its last jackpot on May 2, 2026.