(Baltimore) – An Ellicott City U.S. Census worker received the easiest payday of his life last weekend. The statistician won $50,000 playing Ultimate Payday. He was in an unusually good mood that day, which only got better when one of his friends invited him to lunch at one of his favorite restaurants. It was there, while paying for the bill, that he decided to purchase the lucky ticket. He immediately put the ticket away in his pocket.

After returning home, he scratched the ticket with his wife while watching TV. He soon discovered he had won a $50,000 payday. “I thought, I am a lucky man,” said the winner, “But, I think my wife was more excited than me!”

This is not the first time he has won a large amount of money. In 1973, he won $20,000 playing a scratch-off game in Michigan. “I was a student at the time, so I really needed the money,” said the winner. After he finished school, he eventually became a statistics teacher at Stony Brook University in New York. He married another teacher, and they have three successful children together. In 1988, they moved to Maryland, and he became a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau.

As far as his big win this time around, he plans to save most of it. “I’m going to put my money in the bank. When I need it, I’ll use it!” he said. Although he plays scratch-offs only occasionally, he plays Multi-Match once a week. He vows to continue playing in hopes of winning yet again.

The winning ticket was purchased at Timbuktu Restaurant and Lounge, located at 1726 Dorsey Road in Hanover.