On August 22, 2025, a Baltimore County man known only as "Tank" walked into Hob's Carroll Motor Fuels in Sparrows Point, Maryland, with a simple plan: buy some ice and perhaps try his luck on a scratch-off ticket. What happened next would not only change his life, but also add another remarkable chapter to Maryland's long-running love affair with the lottery.
Tank, who prefers to keep his real name out of the headlines, had an extra $20 in his pocket that day. As he recounted to Maryland Lottery officials, he turned to the store clerk and, with a laugh, said, "Pick me a winner." The clerk handed him a $20 All About Cash scratch-off ticket—just another everyday transaction in a state where lottery dreams are bought and sold by the thousands.
When Tank got home, he reached for his lucky pocket knife—a tool he’d used a few years earlier to scratch off a $10,000 winner—and set about revealing his fate. He started with the numbers, not the prizes, and soon matched the number 27, which he said holds special significance for his family. At first, the win looked modest. "At first, I thought I won $100. Then I thought it was for $1,000. It kept going and going," he told lottery officials, according to a news release cited by UPI and The BayNet.
But as he kept scratching, the zeros piled up. "I called my wife and said, 'I just hit this sucker for one million bucks,'" Tank recalled, laughter and disbelief still evident in his voice. He texted a photo of the ticket to a family member without explanation. The shocked response? "Is that a winner?"
Tank’s story is the kind that keeps hope alive for millions of lottery players. The odds may be long—astronomically so, as Dr. Varsha Radhakrishnan from Tufts Medical Center explained in a recent interview about the psychology of lottery play. "The odds of winning the grand prize is 1 in 292,000,000," Dr. Radhakrishnan noted. Yet, people are drawn to games like Powerball and scratch-offs because of the anticipation and the "what if" feeling. She described how the brain's reward system, fueled by dopamine, reinforces the thrill of gambling, even when the chances of winning are vanishingly small.
Tank's $1 million win was the largest scratch-off prize claimed in Maryland during the week of August 18-24, 2025, according to the Maryland Lottery's official roundup. That same week, the lottery paid out nearly $29.8 million in prizes across all games, including 29 tickets worth $10,000 or more. The winning ticket was sold at Hob's Carroll Motor Fuels at 7115 North Point Road in Sparrows Point, a store that now boasts its own bit of lottery lore—and a $1,000 retailer bonus for selling the lucky ticket.
But Tank wasn’t the only Marylander to strike it rich that week. According to The BayNet and other news outlets, two Powerball tickets with the Double Play option—sold in Landover and Riverdale—each won $500,000 by matching the first five numbers drawn, though not the Powerball number. Those prizes remained unclaimed as of August 25. The Powerball jackpot itself had ballooned to $750 million, with a cash value of $338.6 million, sparking a fresh wave of ticket sales and daydreams across the state.
Maryland’s lottery system, established in 1973, has awarded more than $35.5 billion in prizes and contributed over $20.7 billion to state-funded programs, including education and public health. The system is designed to make big dreams possible, but also to support the community at large. As the Maryland Lottery reminds players, tickets for draw games expire 182 days after the drawing date, and scratch-off tickets have their own redemption deadlines posted online. Prizes larger than $25,000 must be claimed in person at the Maryland Lottery Customer Resource Center in Baltimore, while smaller prizes can be redeemed at casinos, XCAP locations, or any authorized retailer.
Tank says he plans to put his winnings toward retirement—a practical choice for someone who already seems to have a healthy perspective on luck and money. The avid boater, who lives in eastern Baltimore County, is grateful for his good fortune and for the lucky pocket knife that’s now scratched off more than $1 million in winnings over the years. "I’m thankful for my lucky pocket knife," he told Maryland Lottery officials, as reported by the MD Lottery and other outlets.
While Tank’s story is one of joy and surprise, the broader conversation around lottery play includes important reminders about responsible gaming. As Dr. Radhakrishnan explained, "A lot of people can gamble from time to time without any problems. But some people do struggle." Warning signs of gambling addiction include an increasing need to gamble more money, irritability when cutting back, inability to stop despite wanting to, and negative impacts on relationships or work. For those who need help, resources like mdgamblinghelp.org and 1-800-GAMBLER are available, as noted by the Maryland Lottery.
For now, Tank’s story stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of the lottery—part hope, part luck, and part community legend. Sparrows Point, a small community about 15 miles southeast of Baltimore, has become the latest setting for a Maryland Lottery success story. As Tank’s tale spreads, it’s likely to inspire more players to try their luck, even as the odds remain daunting.
But maybe that’s the real magic of the lottery: every ticket is a new story waiting to be written. And as Tank’s million-dollar win proves, sometimes the punchline really is, "Pick me a winner."
