Towson Cancer Survivor Wins $250,000 Lottery

A 19-year-old Towson cancer survivor can thank a feeling for becoming $250,000 richer.

Nick Ruth, a graduate of Archbishop Curley High School, has been playing the lottery for about a year—and sticks to a ritual of buying his Mega Millions tickets at a 7-11 near his job at 8507 Loch Raven Boulevard, according to a news release from the Maryland Lottery. Though he wasn't scheduled to work on Friday, he still visited the convenience store because it "just felt right." He is now $250,000 richer.

According to the release, Ruth had purchased three tickets but didn't check them until late Saturday evening and discovered that five of his six numbers matched the winning ones. 

"I couldn’t believe it, so I asked my mom to look at the ticket," Ruth said in the release. "Once we figured out how much I’d won, we started to run all over the house screaming. After we calmed down, we looked at each other and started screaming and running again."

Ruth, who has been in remission from leukemia for seven years, plans to donate some of his winning to local cancer organizations as a way to give back, the release states. He also intends to pay off his car and put funds in his bank account.

Ruth hopes his good luck will continue as he awaits word about a law-enforcement job. In the meantime, he will continue work as a dishwasher and barback.