Good 'Trouble:' Maryland Lottery Player Kicks Off 2023 With $1.5M Jackpot Win

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There was no “trouble” to the start of the new year for a lucky Maryland Lottery player who claimed the second-largest winning prize in the three-year history of the “FAST PLAY! Hit The Jackpot!” game.

A Charles County construction worker who nicknamed himself “Trouble,” is having anything but that after winning a $1,540,418 progressive jackpot to become the second-largest winner since the game’s debut in February 2020, Lottery officials announced this week.

“Trouble,” says that he is a regular “Hit the Jackpot!” player and purchased the ticket while inside US Fuel in Waldorf on Monday, Jan. 2.

He looked at the ticket while still inside the gas station when he realized that he had just won a seven-figure cash windfall, though he didn’t want to let on too much since he was in public.

Lottery officials said that “Trouble” didn’t want to do too much celebrating and bring any attention to the winning $1.5 million ticket, so he quietly left the store without any fanfare before he got into his car.

Then the celebration was on.

“Wow. This is awesome,” he said. “I saw (the progressive jackpot) kept rising. I said I was going to stop playing once someone hit the jackpot. I can’t believe I was the one to hit it.”

“Trouble” plans to use the sudden influx of cash to help out his brother, his mother, and to have some cash to pass down to his school-age children.

As an added bonus, US Fuel will also receive a $1,000 commission for selling a winning "FAST PLAY” ticket of $100,000 or more, and “Trouble" who is a loyal customer at the gas station, has continued to frequent the store since his big win.

The lucky lotto player said that when the news leaked out that a winning $1.5 million Maryland Lottery ticket was sold there, store employees had one question for him that was answered without words.

"They looked at me and asked me if I was the big winner. I didn’t answer but just smiled. They knew,” he mused. “This is a good way to start 2023.”