A gas station convenience store in North Bethesda sold an historic $10 million winning lottery ticket.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency announced this week that the Exxon at 11433 Rockville Pike sold the winning ticket that matched all of the numbers in the Sept. 27 Powerball Double Play drawing.
It is the first time someone won the $10 million top prize since Double Play was started in August, according to a press release.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, the winner had not claimed the prize, lottery spokesman Seth Elkin told Bethesda Beat.
Maryland launched Powerball Double Play on Aug. 23. It is a second drawing that occurs 30 minutes after each Powerball drawing, according to the lottery’s website. People can buy Powerball tickets for $2 and add a Double Play option for $1 more.
In Double Play, contestants have the chance to win up to $10 million using the same numbers as on their Powerball ticket. They must match the first five numbers (which range from 1 to 69), then the Powerball number (which ranges from 1 to 26). The odds of matching all six numbers are about 1 in 292 million.
The Powerball Double Play options is offered in 12 states and Puerto Rico.
Elkin said lottery winners have up to six months from the date of the drawing to claim their prize, and can remain anonymous.
It’s not unusual for a winner to not claim the prize immediately, Elkin said, because they may want to first seek financial or legal advice.
“For a large prize, a lot of people get their ducks in a row and be prepared to accept that large prize,” he said.
Elkin said there have been instances in which small lottery prizes went unclaimed, but it’s never happened for a prize worth millions of dollars.
Shoney Ponda, the owner of the Exxon, told Bethesda Beat on Thursday that it’s “pretty exciting” to know his business sold the winning ticket.
“This is the first time that the Double Play feature had a winner nationally. So that makes it special,” he said.
Ponda’s business will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media