A Maryland man said he has his best friend's novel to thank for inspiring him to buy a lottery ticket that won him $50,000.
The Montgomery County man, identified only as Alex, told Maryland Lottery officials his friend wrote a fictional novel, Sunrise at the American Market, and the tome inspired him and his friends to emulate the characters in the book by meeting for morning coffee at a local convenience store.
Alex said the characters in the novel meet each morning at the store to drink coffee and play scratch-off tickets, so he bought a $1,000,000 Blowout scratch-off during a recent morning coffee at the Auburn Exxon in Bethesda.
The ticket turned out to be a $50,000 winner.
"Originally, when I saw the ticket and saw that I won, I immediately said, 'This must be a mistake,'" Alex said. "I gasped, thinking there was no way I could possibly win that much!"
Alex said he plans to spend some of the money on his children and save the rest for the future.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
