Mega Millions Winner In Resort Remains Unknown

OCEAN
CITY - While the White Marlin Open going on in the resort this week is in the
midst of doling out an estimated $2.2 million in prize money, a big cash payout
of a different sort awaits an unknown person who purchased a Mega Millions
lottery ticket at a north end convenience store sometime before the drawing on
Tuesday.

Ocean
Market on 141^st Street
in Ocean City sold a second-tier winning Mega
Millions ticket worth $250,000 sometime before the bi-weekly drawing on Tuesday
night, but the winner had not yet come forward as of yesterday. The $250,000
winning ticket was one of three sold in Maryland
before Tuesday's drawing and none of the winners have come forward to claim
their prizes, according to Maryland State Lottery officials.

The
other winning tickets were sold in Baltimore and
Nottingham, Md., but there is no reason to believe the
prizes will not be claimed. The winners have 182 days from the date of the
drawing to come forward and cash their tickets. There were no jackpot winners
in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing, making tonight's drawing worth $45 million.

The sale of a $250,000
second-tier Mega Millions ticket in Ocean
City was the second of
its kind in as many months in the area. In late June, two lucky men from Berlin were overjoyed
when they learned they had won a second-tier $250,000 Mega Millions prize. The
pair, who happen to be good friends, told Lottery officials that they've been
playing the same numbers for quite a few years now and they were happy that
their •€˜ship finally came in.'

That winning ticket was
purchased at Your Store on Old
Ocean City Blvd. in Berlin. The winners, who have preferred to
remain anonymous, said they would split the winnings right down the middle and
save most of it.

The multi-state Mega
Millions game is played in 12 states including Georgia, Illinois,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Washington,
Texas, California and, of course, Maryland, with the latter selling more than
its share of big winners thus far this year.

Since the start of 2008,
Maryland has sold 20 second-tier $250,000
winners, including the one in Berlin in late
June and the one in Ocean
City on Tuesday. In

addition, 125 third-tier winning tickets worth $10,000 have been sold in Maryland this year.