A Tourist from Tennessee Strikes Gold with $100,000 Powerball Prize in Maryland

Imagine going on a vacation and returning home not just with souvenirs and memories, but with a six-figure lottery win. This is precisely the story of a Tennessee man who found himself significantly wealthier after his holiday in Maryland.

The Holiday Season Win

During the winter holidays, this fortunate tourist decided to try his luck with the Powerball lottery. The jackpot had swelled to an eye-watering $1.8 billion for the draw on December 24, 2025. The staggering amount caught his attention and he thought, why not give it a shot? "I saw the jackpot and said to my family, 'Let's get a ticket'," he later shared with Maryland Lottery officials.

He purchased his golden ticket at Dash-In on Riva Road in Annapolis. However, by the time he remembered to check his numbers, he had already left Maryland and returned home. Little did he know that this seemingly ordinary ticket was about to change his life.

A Surprise Discovery

When he finally scanned his ticket, he received a "Go to Lottery" message. Intrigued and hopeful, he rang up his brother and asked him to read out the numbers for the December 24 Powerball drawing. The numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59 along with red Powerball number 19.

To his utter astonishment, he realized that he had matched four regular white ball numbers plus the red Powerball number! This combination entitled him to a $50,000 prize. Overwhelmed, he exclaimed to his brother, "I think I won!"

Although he was a hair's breadth away from the $1.8 billion jackpot, he was not too disappointed. After all, he had just won a significant amount! He also had the foresight to purchase the Power Play option for an extra dollar, which proved to be a wise decision.

The Power of Power Play

With the Power Play purchase, he was eligible to multiply his winnings whenever the drawn multiplier was more than 1. As luck would have it, the drawn multiplier that night was 2, effectively doubling his third-tier $50,000 prize to a whopping $100,000!

He journeyed back to Maryland and claimed his prize at the Lottery headquarters in Baltimore on a Monday. When asked about his plans for the winnings, this fortunate real estate agent humbly said, "I'm going to give some away and will try to keep some for myself."

This story is a reminder that sometimes, fortune can strike when you least expect it – even during an out-of-state vacation! And as our Tennessee man would probably tell you now: when the jackpot is high and you're feeling lucky... why not buy a ticket?