Maryland Lottery Tops $1.6B Record: FAST PLAY Big Win Still Has Prizes Left

Maryland’s regulated gaming sector generated a combined $1.637 billion for state programs in Fiscal Year 2026 — an all-time record — and the platform at the center of some of the year’s largest wins is still running, with dozens of top prizes yet to be claimed.

Jason Nixon, a truck driver from Dundalk who was making a delivery run late in July, stopped at a 7-Eleven on his route — the one at 162 Ritchie Highway in Severna Park — and picked up a $10 FAST PLAY Big Win ticket from the store’s vending machine. By the time he scanned it at two more retailers on the way to his next stop, he had confirmed what he could barely accept: a $50,000 win.

“It was crazy,” Nixon told Maryland Lottery officials when he later claimed his prize alongside his wife Elaine. “I went over it a bunch of times, and it was a $50,000 match every time.” Even with repeated confirmation, disbelief lingered. “I looked at myself in the rearview mirror. Even with that doubt in my mind, I couldn’t get the smile off my face.”

Nixon’s win was announced by the Maryland Lottery on August 17, 2026 — one day before this article’s publication. As of that announcement, the FAST PLAY Big Win game still had 20 top prizes of $100,000 and 16 prizes of $50,000 remaining in circulation.

How FAST PLAY’s Progressive Jackpot Mechanic Differs from Scratch-Offs

FAST PLAY is not a scratch-off and does not work like one. The distinction matters for anyone considering buying a ticket.

A traditional scratch-off is pre-printed in a fixed batch before any ticket goes on sale. The full prize distribution — including exactly how many winning tickets exist — is determined at the print run. Players are drawing from a pool that does not change.

FAST PLAY games are printed on demand at a retail terminal or self-service vending machine at the exact moment of purchase. There is no pre-committed inventory. For progressive jackpot FAST PLAY games specifically, a small preset dollar increment is added to the jackpot pool each time a ticket anywhere in the state is sold. That pool accumulates in real time and resets to its minimum starting amount only when a jackpot-winning combination is generated.

The practical consequence: the jackpot amount printed on each FAST PLAY ticket is the actual real-time pool value at the moment the ticket is printed — not an estimate and not an average. A ticket purchased five minutes after a previous one will show a slightly higher jackpot if more tickets were sold in that window. Readers can check current jackpot levels for all active Maryland FAST PLAY progressive games at the Maryland Lottery website’s “Top FAST PLAY Progressive Jackpots” page before deciding to buy.

FAST PLAY games also produce outcomes immediately upon purchase, rather than waiting for a scheduled draw. Players learn the result at the counter or by scanning the ticket at a lottery terminal.

Maryland FAST PLAY Has Produced Some of 2026’s Biggest Wins

The platform’s progressive jackpot mechanics have produced striking payouts across Maryland in 2026. In late May, a Delaware couple who stopped for gas in the Wicomico County town of Willards purchased a $10 Platinum Payout ticket that hit a $176,777 progressive jackpot — a win the couple said they had expected to come from Mega Millions or Powerball, not from a gas station impulse buy. Two days before that, a $10 High Roller Blackjack ticket sold in Accokeek generated a $114,257 progressive jackpot.

That pair of FAST PLAY wins arrived just two months after an even more dramatic sequence. In late March, a Bel Air retiree who started his lottery session with a $5 scratch-off — which yielded a $20 win — used the winnings to buy a $20 FAST PLAY Super 777 ticket. He walked out with an $828,616 progressive jackpot. Just two days after the Bel Air ticket was sold, a $289,415 FAST PLAY Grand Progressive jackpot ticket was purchased in Temple Hills; the winner — a Pennsylvania resident — claimed the prize at Maryland Lottery headquarters on April 2.

Dundalk’s Pattern of Lottery Fortune

Nixon’s win extends a recent streak that has made Dundalk a recurring subject in Maryland Lottery announcements. In July, a Dundalk couple who both work at a Maryland college scratched a $20 Gifts of Green ticket while putting away groceries — a ticket the husband had suggested buying after checking the Maryland Lottery website to confirm top prizes were still available. The result: a $500,000 top prize, claimed July 15 at Lottery headquarters. That win anchored a week in which the Lottery paid out $30 million statewide, including 27 prizes of $10,000 or more.

Earlier, a Dundalk warehouse worker and avid fisherman revealed a 50X multiplier symbol on a $10 MONOPOLY X50 scratch-off that turned a base win of $1,000 into a $50,000 payout. “I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t expecting that much money,” he told Lottery officials, after purchasing the ticket at Quick Mart on Wise Avenue in Dundalk.

Maryland’s All-Time Record Gaming Year

Nixon’s win arrived near the end of the most productive fiscal year in Maryland Lottery history. The Maryland Lottery and the state’s casinos, sportsbooks, and fantasy sports operators combined to deliver $1.637 billion in contributions to state programs in Fiscal Year 2026, which ran from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 — surpassing the prior fiscal year’s figure by $48 million.

The breakdown: lottery profits contributed $681.6 million; casino gaming contributed $822.2 million — the fifth-best casino year in the state’s 16-year casino history; and sports wagering and fantasy sports added $133.3 million, up sharply from $88.9 million the prior year. Averaged across the fiscal year, Maryland’s regulated gaming sector generated $4.48 million per day for state causes.

“We’re proud to operate and oversee gaming that raises critically needed state revenue,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said in the FY2026 announcement. “We take a moment each summer after the fiscal year ends to look at the numbers, but we’ve also quickly turned our attention to the future as we aim for a strong FY2027 and beyond.”

Where Maryland Gaming Revenue Goes

Of the $1.637 billion total, $699.8 million went to Maryland education programs — including the Education Trust Fund, which supports early childhood education, public elementary and secondary schools, and school construction — and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which finances longer-term education reform. Casino gaming alone sent $599.1 million to the Education Trust Fund, pushing cumulative casino-funded education contributions past $7 billion since the state’s first casino opened in September 2010.

An additional $149 million in Lottery profits was directed to other designated state funds: public transit initiatives, the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund, and improvements to the Camden Yards Sports Complex in Baltimore. Maryland’s casinos also provided $103.4 million in local community aid, $94.7 million to the horse racing industry, and $20.3 million to the state’s Small, Minority and Women-owned Business Fund. Full FY2026 figures are published by the Southern Maryland Chronicle.

On the winners’ side: Maryland players took home $1.692 billion in prizes during FY2026, averaging $4.6 million paid out every day. The year produced 1,659 prizes of $10,000 or more — including 542 winning tickets paying at least $50,000 and 28 prizes of at least $1 million. The Lottery’s 4,229 retail locations earned a combined $199.5 million in sales and cashing commissions, averaging more than $47,000 per retailer.

Maryland gaming also directed $5.4 million to the state’s Problem Gambling Fund in FY2026, supporting no-cost counseling services available to residents around the clock.

How Do I Claim a Large Maryland Lottery Prize?

Prizes over $25,000 must be claimed at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore; in-person claims require a scheduled appointment. Prizes of $5,000 or less can be claimed at any Maryland Lottery retailer.

Maryland is among the states with a blanket winner anonymity right: winners of draw-game, FAST PLAY, and scratch-off prizes may remain anonymous, and the Lottery does not release a winner’s name or photo without written consent. Jason Nixon chose to claim publicly alongside his wife — but that choice was his alone to make.

Federal tax withholding of 24% applies to prizes over $5,000 for U.S. residents. Maryland state income tax is also withheld: 8.75% for Maryland residents, and 7% for non-residents. Maryland also withholds state tax from non-resident winners — one of only two states to do so (Arizona is the other). County and city income taxes apply on top of the state rate for Maryland residents and are settled at filing rather than at the time of the prize claim.

For Nixon, a $50,000 prize triggers both federal and state withholding. After required withholding, a Maryland resident winner of $50,000 keeps approximately $33,625, depending on county of residence and other tax circumstances, before any additional tax owed at filing. The remaining FAST PLAY Big Win prizes — 20 at $100,000 and 16 at $50,000 — are still in the game’s print run, available to whoever next pulls up to the right terminal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is FAST PLAY, and how is it different from a scratch-off?

FAST PLAY games are instant-result tickets printed on demand at a retail terminal or vending machine at the time of purchase, rather than manufactured in a pre-printed batch. Unlike scratch-offs, which have a fixed prize distribution determined before any ticket is sold, FAST PLAY progressive jackpot games accumulate a growing prize pool with every ticket sold statewide. The jackpot amount printed on each ticket reflects the real-time pool value at the exact moment of printing. Results are immediate — players know if they won as soon as they receive the ticket.

Can I check the current FAST PLAY progressive jackpot before I buy?

Yes. The Maryland Lottery maintains a “Top FAST PLAY Progressive Jackpots” page at mdlottery.com that lists current jackpot amounts for active progressive games. Because the jackpot amount is stamped on the ticket at the moment of printing, the value on your ticket is the actual pool at that instant — checking online before visiting a retailer gives you a sense of how large the current pool has grown since the last win. As of August 17, 2026, the FAST PLAY Big Win game still carried 20 top prizes of $100,000 and 16 prizes of $50,000.

How much of a Maryland Lottery prize do I actually take home after taxes?

Federal withholding of 24% applies to prizes over $5,000. Maryland state withholding is 8.75% for residents and 7% for non-residents — one of only two states in the country that also withholds from non-resident winners. Maryland residents also owe county income tax (ranging from 2.25% to 3.20% depending on jurisdiction), which is settled at annual tax filing rather than at the time of claiming. On a $50,000 prize, a Maryland resident would see approximately $16,375 withheld at claim time — the remaining amount may be further reduced or partially recovered depending on total annual income and deductions.

Can Maryland Lottery winners remain anonymous?

Yes. Maryland extends an unconditional anonymity right to winners of draw-game, FAST PLAY, and scratch-off prizes. The Lottery does not release a winner’s name, photograph, or other identifying information without the winner’s explicit written consent. This applies regardless of the prize amount and does not require the winner to take any special legal steps before claiming. Identity and tax information are still required for processing, but that information remains internal. Maryland is among a minority of states that offer this protection at all, and one of fewer still that provide it without a minimum prize threshold.

The Maryland Lottery encourages responsible play. For problem gambling resources, call 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) or visit mdgamblinghelp.org. Players must be at least 18 years old to purchase Maryland Lottery tickets.