(Baltimore) - A Catonsville man’s stop to say hi to his local Lottery retailer really paid off today – to the tune of over $30,000. The former marine, who now works abroad most of the year in contract security, often stops by the Soda Pop Shop during his hiatus from work. He likes to shoot the breeze and play his favorite Lottery games. His typical choices are Racetrax, as well as Pick 3 and Pick 4. On this particular day, he had a $10 bill in his pocket. He spent $7 on Lottery play and decided to use the remaining $3 for a few more Racetrax games. He played the numbers 10, 11 and 12 – on three different races, one of which made him a big winner.

It wasn’t until returning home though that he found out that his picks proved so profitable. Just ten minutes after stepping through the door, he got a phone call from the store telling him that they thought he’d won. “I asked them, are you sure? They told me, you have the ticket, bring it back and we’ll check it.”

After returning to the store to confirm his win, the 74-year-old didn’t waste anytime getting to Lottery Headquarters to claim his prize. He will, however, wait until he receives his check to tell his wife of 29 years the good news. “I’m going to show it to her and say, what do you want to do,” he said.

The man, who hails originally from California, said that he will put some money away, use some for his home and take his wife to a nice dinner to celebrate her 69th birthday on July 19th. The winning ticket was purchased at Soda Pop Shop #8 in Baltimore.