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A routine stop at a convenience store in Hyattsville, Maryland, turned into a life-altering moment for a Washington, D.C. school bus driver who quietly walked away with a $5 million lottery prize, then did something few winners would consider doing: he went back to work.

The shock came not with celebration or headlines, but with disbelief, a phone call to his mother, and a return to his daily shift behind the wheel.

A Simple Stop That Changed Everything

Maurice Williams bought his winning ticket at the 7-Eleven in the 7200 block of Sheriff Road before heading to work, Maryland Lottery officials said. He stopped into the store to cash in a $50 prize he'd won on a $5,000,000 LUXE scratch-off, which costs $50 play.

He used his $50 winnings to buy another ticket and almost missed the fact that he'd won a whopping $5 million.

“It’s crazy because the matching number was 59 and I just turned 59 the other day,”

Williams said.

The Moment It Finally Hit Him

The realization did not come immediately. It came only after he scanned the ticket.

“I didn’t notice I had a matching number at first, until I scanned it,”

he told lottery officials.

What followed was pure shock and disbelief.

“It’s crazy because the matching number was 59 and I just turned 59 the other day.”

Williams said the enormity of the win froze him in place.

“I just sat there stuck; I mean, I couldn’t believe it,”

he said.

“I had to get my head straight.”

Back to Work After a $5 Million Win

After the realization set in, Williams made a surprising decision. He called his mother to share the life-changing news, carefully put the winning ticket away, and then went to work as a school bus driver, lottery officials said. A photo shows him holding an oversized check dated May 5.

The contrast was striking: a multimillion-dollar win on one hand, and a normal workday on the other.

Plans for the Future After the Jackpot

Williams says the win will transform his family’s future, but he is not rushing into anything reckless.

He plans to buy his mother a house, save the rest, and take time to decide what comes next.

The $5,000,000 LUXE scratch-off offers a 1 in 2.5 chance of winning any prize, with $50 as the smallest payout, according to lottery officials.