Hitting the big Mounty with Home Run Riches

Seth Elkin of The Maryland Lottery tells the backstory of the Ryan Mountcastle big $50,000 home run against the Los Angeles Angels this week that continues a 50th Anniversary season that is just getting started.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

50th anniversary, week, drawings, orioles, preakness, years, play, winners, lottery, voucher, game, seth, ticket, promotion, homerun, woods, 50th, run, pirates, good

SPEAKERS

Seth Elkin, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

What about wn st Towson, Baltimore. And Baltimore positive you’re positively into Preakness week around your I’ll be at the local up in fallston on Tuesday from two of the five. giving these away there are the instant lottery throwback scratch offs. I think this is the luckiest pack I’ve had. We’ve had a whole lot of winners. We had winners of fate. Lee’s two weeks ago, we had winners, the capillaries couple weeks ago. We certainly had some winners last week as well as we went to Essex or is it Middle River? I’m not sure. Seth Elkins joins us now. He was not a big winner over the weekend because he’s a pirates fan. And we went through this last weekend with this. I let him wear as Little Willie Sarge, they gave me a chance to get my damn Passerini jersey. So I felt good about it. But you know, John Martin and I began this 50th anniversary home run Rich’s competition thing, probably back in February. We started talking about it. In March, we started pushing in April, which keeps signing people up. And you know, he’s a guardians fan. He’s not here to defend himself right now. And you can defend your pirates whenever I give you the opportunity. But he was thinking early June, we’ll get our 50th Home run, and animate that he was particularly conservative or aggressive in it. But for the 50th home run actually happened before the Preakness that would have been its own pet unto itself. Am I correct? Seth? How can

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Seth Elkin  01:17

I? Yeah, I think we were we were thinking it was going to be early June. That’s what we saw last year, I believe it was the first week of June when it happened.

Nestor Aparicio  01:24

They move the fences back to right. So you also have that.

Seth Elkin  01:29

So we’re we’re we were a little surprised that they got off to the start that they got off to they ran a torrid pace in April when we started saying, hey, you know what, it’s going to be before the end of May. So we started getting people ready to try to get entered. We did a big push in April, to make sure people were in that drawing because we do the contestant of The Game drawings on a monthly basis. So all of the winners for me were selected on April 25. And they’re on the calendar and we’re waiting and we got the payoff last night.

Nestor Aparicio  01:56

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The person that the person that won’t give me the name of the person who won on

Seth Elkin  02:00

Barbara Phelps, Anderson, and she’s from Shadyside.

Nestor Aparicio  02:03

Okay, so Barbara Phelps Anderson’s finds out on April 25, that, you know, she’s got a one in 30 that maybe would happen this month, because it’s gonna happen, they’re gonna hit their 50th home run. That’s the best part of the promotion. We knew it was going to happen for sure. Unlike the Grand Slam with Gary Ranchi 50 years ago that I always referenced, you didn’t know that a Grand Slam could happen in that at bat. You know, if I’m her, I wouldn’t have thought that I had a great chance. Right? I mean, you get it. You’re, you’re I’m sure she was monitoring it pretty heavily. Right?

Seth Elkin  02:34

She Yeah, she was aware actually, we talked to her yesterday. She knew and she was paying attention and she was I’m sure very excited last night, when Ryan mountcastle Put one off the batter’s eyewall I think was the sixth inning last night came in actually as a pinch hitter did not start the game, which I thought was odd. I was watching the pregame and saw the lineup and I noticed that you know immediately that he was not in the lineup and I think the idea was they wanted to give him a little bit of rest and get him get him in get a couple of bats but boy, he he paid off with that 50th homerun last night

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Nestor Aparicio  03:09

telling me there’s going to be a picture of Barbara with with Ryan mountcastle on a 50,000

Seth Elkin  03:14

I don’t know whether we’re going to do that I do think we’re going to have her come out to a game that’s the plan sometimes

Nestor Aparicio  03:21

the money for she’s gotta at least thank him right i would i

Seth Elkin  03:25

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She might have to settle for the Oracle bird and a picture with with the the Oriole bird on the field before the game, but I think that that’s gonna be a fun time for her and certainly she was very excited and she wins. Actually a total of $51,500 for last night because here’s how this works. We’ll add up the bill for you. She got $500 for being selected as a contestant of the game. And then she gets an additional 500 for each home run that the Orioles into the game and they had to Ryan O’Hearn. It was the two designated hitters Ryan O’Hearn started at D H. And then Ryan mountcastle came in and became the d h during the game I think mountcastle doubled and homered so the two d h is the two Ryan’s hit the two homeruns. And she gets a $500 for each of those. So that’s 1500 plus the 50,000 that she gets for being the contestant when that 50th homerun got it. So very exciting for us. And and the first of 250 $1,000 prizes that are connected with this promotion because of course the promotion still rolls on. We’ve all been very excited about getting to that 50th homerun and a lot of attention paid to that. But we have again, monthly drawings for the additional contestants of the game throughout the season. And in the final drawing on August 29 will pick the contestants for the games in September and will award another $50,000 prize at that time. So plenty of time still to get in on this and a number of other promotions that are going on. So Barbara

Nestor Aparicio  04:46

the winner did she she played a homerun riches ticket she may or may not have won $2 $5 And then entered correct. So it’s a second chance Correct? Correct. I just want to be clear as to how you enter and how you get in. This is the way any human One road to

Seth Elkin  05:00

riches ticket, it could be a winning ticket or a non winning ticket. They’re both eligible with scratch offs when you enter my lottery rewards contest and has to be a non winning scratch off. But for draw game tickets and fast play tickets, it can be any ticket, whether it’s a winner or not. So any ticket you buy, you can enter in and have a chance to be part of those contests. One of the one of the really popular ones now too is the 50th anniversary cashback promotion, which again, you know, any ticket that you enter is going to help you make progress toward that every $50 worth of tickets that you enter into your My lottery rewards account. Between now and the end of the summer is going to get you an entry into the cashback promotion, we’re doing monthly drawings there as well. So there are cash prizes that you can win every month. And then we’re also picking two finalists each month for an event that will take place at the State Fair in September. And a four of those finalists have already been selected. We still have six more to go in, in drugs that are upcoming. And each of the finalists wins $10,000 for being a finalist. And then one of those 10 is going to have a chance at that event at the state fair to win up to $5 million. So what’s the chance to still be involved in that as well?

Nestor Aparicio  06:10

5 million bucks?

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Seth Elkin  06:11

Possibly. Yep, we hope so.

Nestor Aparicio  06:13

I mean, it’s Game Changer not to $51,500 It’s not a game changer for Barbara but Seth Alcon is here. He’s you know, I think you reg this 50 homerun thing on Tuesday night so you wouldn’t have to talk about the pirates.

Seth Elkin  06:28

I don’t know. I think I think we’re plenty excited talking about about what the Orioles are doing here. You know,

Nestor Aparicio  06:33

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Hey, man, I got a ballpark. I mean, I know you’re not an Oreo fan. But did you were the stars Oh guarantee. I was

Seth Elkin  06:39

decked out in my we our family jersey that I subjected you to last week. I was there for the game Friday night.

Nestor Aparicio  06:45

So for you, it’s how you treated in hospitably? No,

Seth Elkin  06:48

nobody said a word to me. And there were there were a lot of other pirates fans there too. So plenty of

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Nestor Aparicio  06:53

we forget 1979. Some of us haven’t forgotten.

Seth Elkin  06:57

I you know, but the excitement really is building around what this Orioles team is doing here this year. And you know, they came into this week at 45 home runs. And they had to start the week by facing Shohei Otani and I don’t think anybody in this building on Monday afternoon if you had asked would have said well, they’re gonna hit three home runs off Shohei Otani and be within two going into that game. It’s still

Nestor Aparicio  07:18

loose and he was going to have five hits and wind up doing something nobody in the history of baseball has ever done. Right.

Seth Elkin  07:24

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But I’ll tell you what, though, if we’re talking about milestones and things that nobody else has done, I looked this up just a few minutes ago through the magic of baseball reference. I

Nestor Aparicio  07:32

love this I’m able to see Yanni or Cano stat, no, this is a Shohei Ohtani Yanni or Kunos making his own history Mullins last week hit for the cycle. I mean, things are happening here. We’re making our own history here. We don’t mean by the way, the whole Otani thing I went to see John Waite and I know you guys are gonna be at the Preakness on Saturday, you know doing the wheel and all that stuff in the infield. My wife’s gonna be there for Bruno Mars and all that. But I you know, getting out and like feeling springtime and getting all that thing going. Everybody’s attuned to the oars, even at the John Waite thing. Everybody was like she picked John Waite over show a Otani I’m like, he’s gonna be a Yankee, and he’ll be pitching your app for the next 10 years what he’s gonna be doing

Seth Elkin  08:13

Otani you’re gonna love this, though, because I was surprised to find this. Otani had prior to Monday night had given up three home runs in a game only one other time. You’d never guess who the team was that did it against him the other time. The pirates. No, it was the Orioles two times he’s given up three home runs and both times against Baltimore remember the first one but okay. I mean, maybe August of 2021. It was Cedric Mullins and Santander and DJ Stewart went deep against Otani in a game at Oriel park so, so nice that the Royals have his number maybe, you know, maybe if I had looked that up on Monday, I would have known that they were going to do this and they were going to get close and get over that. If the homerun mark this week.

Nestor Aparicio  08:57

Have a good time with the ballpark. I mean, I’m asking people just in a general sense about going out because a lot of folks let’s start with the fact that there was a plague and you couldn’t go team one very good people. A lot of people are having their first time back in a while experiences this week specifically, and the squirt zones going on and like it it really has been engaging so much so that on the night when mountcastle hit the homerun we were on a yoga mat came home grab some food, my wife’s like, Hey, let’s go watch the game. So um, I think I it’s been a nice awakening for me. It feels to me like in my DNA, the feelings I had about the 79 pirates or the 83 Orioles or the 89 Orioles or the 96 Orioles or the 90 you know that the this is gonna be a good year this can be a good year for Baltimore for the city for baseball for people like you who love baseball too that you’re you’re you’re gonna get out and want to watch and play again because we’re gonna play meaningful games.

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Seth Elkin  09:52

Yeah, it’s you definitely have that sense being in the ballpark. I mean, even being a pirates fan i i will say i got a soft spot for the Orioles because You, you and I, you and I are both old enough to remember the days before interleague play so, you know, there’s not the rivalry there. Even even with the World Series, the two World Series that these franchises have played against us nobody

Nestor Aparicio  10:10

on our side of the fence is not going to say it’s not a rivalry it still makes it anchored right so seeing that jersey last week on your

Seth Elkin  10:17

it’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose. But I you know, I remember the days before you didn’t you never saw the the only time you saw American League teams was on This Week in baseball on a Saturday game of the week when you when you grew up in a national league city like I did so. So I really kind of like getting a chance to see the Orioles and it’s great to see them play. Well that kind of the same feeling that maybe a lot of people have in Pittsburgh about when the pirates finally rebound after so many years of of really struggling, that it’s nice to see that they put on the Orioles especially have really put a competitive team on the field. And it’s exciting to to see well,

Nestor Aparicio  10:49

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thanks got so bad. Yeah, to come down and work for the Maryland lottery and watch Cal Ripken play. Back in the day. Seth ALK. It’s been around a marathon, how many years you’ve been with the lottery. Eight years now.

Seth Elkin  10:59

I just passed the eight year mark in April. Nice. Well,

Nestor Aparicio  11:01

I mean, this is a great year, it’s the 50th anniversary or the 50th anniversary cards. And you guys are getting back to doing things again and the Preakness and the spinning the wheel. Tell everybody when they see you out at the fair at wine in the woods, or in my case at Trifecta where I ran into Ross and you guys spinning wheels and having a good time. You’re out in the community a lot. And that was something that was really missing in 2021, even parts of 22 that as really sort of ramped up. This is your it’s full on for the 50th anniversary all summer long. Yeah, it’s

Seth Elkin  11:32

really full on back to the schedule that we were at prior to the pandemic, when certainly things slowed down for a while and you had events that weren’t happening that we would typically be at. But we’re really back to that. Now. We, as you mentioned, we’ll be at Preakness and all that same day we will be at wine in the woods, both days of wine in the woods, in on the 20th and 21st in Colombia. And then there’s a whole sequence of weekend events that we’re going to be at we’re going to be at brew at the zoo. We are going to be at Capital Jazz Fest we’re going to be at at Han fest, of course, how could we skip Han fest. So we’re all of these events. And these are big, large scale events where we get out there we set up our tent and our table and we have our prize wheel and you can step up and spin the wheel and win a lottery item a shirt or a hat or a water bottle or a deck of cards or a number of other items that we have lots of 50th anniversary items that we’ve got for people to to walk away with and it’s a great opportunity for us to get out there and and see the people that make this place go you know, without the players, where would we be so we’re really happy to have the chance to get out there and and be face to face with them.

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Nestor Aparicio  12:37

I love giving these out because I love it. People think like oh, you can be free i can’t when somebody wants 50 bucks at State Fair last week. jumps up there screaming having a good time. I’m there two to five. Go check all that and Chris pike I had Bill Dell and Josh Levine out talking with me on Friday. We’re gonna be at the local and fallston on Tuesday, special Tuesday afternoon. Two of the five really looking forward to getting back up to a Harford County. I’ll be giving these away. These are the 50th anniversary scratch offs. They’re fun for everybody. We’ve had some winners want to encourage everybody to play responsibly, especially with the horse race this weekend and I see all the baseball come ons every night. There’s so many creative ways now to wager on a baseball game. Just asking everybody to know your limits in the set your limits and know what you’re doing ahead of time. So you can make this fun because we want it to be fun. Like it was fun for Barbara on Tuesday night and fun for Ryan mountcastle fun for anybody that’s taking the Oreos and watch the show a Otani plays me that I cover all the bases, Josh Seth Falconer, if that if I missed anything here,

Seth Elkin  13:35

and we’ve got one more piece of fun that’s coming on May 24 is coming up is a very special day for us because that is 50 years to the day. Since the Maryland lottery at his very first drawing it was May 24 1973. So we are commemorating that occasion with a one day promotion on that day. If you buy any Maryland lottery draw game ticket or fast play ticket on May 24. You may also win a cash voucher worth either $50 or $500 just for playing. So what’s our thanks for playing promotion, we are going to give away more than 15,000 cash vouchers all across the state with a total value of more than a million dollars go Oh,

Nestor Aparicio  14:21

you’re giving away 15,000 Give me I can 5500 Was that

Seth Elkin  14:27

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really it’s a total of more than 15,000 individual cash amounts but it has to play that day that will be awarded and other vouchers will be awarded when you buy a ticket. Okay random purchases of tickets so won’t be every purchase but there’s no way to know when or where or exactly how often but you will have a chance to get a cash voucher along with any tickets, draw game tickets or fast play tickets that you purchase on May 24. So if your ticket that you bought comes with a voucher, there will be a congratulations message across the top of your ticket saying congratulations because you’ve won a voucher, and that cash voucher will print immediately after your ticket prints, and it’ll be worth either $50 or $500. If

Nestor Aparicio  15:09

there’s 15,000 Of those, yep. Wow, that’s a lot of winners

Seth Elkin  15:12

in one day that a million more than a million dollars worth of cash vouchers.

Nestor Aparicio  15:16

We got that in I my gosh, I didn’t even Wednesday.

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Seth Elkin  15:20

That is May 24. Wednesday, May 24. It’s our thanks for playing promotion again as a way of commemorating the fact that it was that day 50 years ago that we had the very first drawing in our history. If you think about 50 years worth of drawings, how many 1000s upon 1000s of drawings that we had daily drawings, Second Chance drawings, it all started with 150 years ago on May 24. So all

Nestor Aparicio  15:42

right, well, I have my picture with all I will share the picture of me and your hallway with all the old promotional signs to promote the 24th because I I want to find some winners that day. I mean, you guys are making it rain throw money all over the place. So for the 50th anniversary, it’s the 24th man I don’t know we got homerun riches is cashed out now we got the big winner, but it’s gonna go on all summer long. Got the Preakness into that wind in the woods. I haven’t been to that event. Tommy good. Could you do that event before?

Seth Elkin  16:10

It’s I’ve been there once. It’s it’s a fun event. And it’s a it’s a nice setting of course. And you get you get a little bit of shade, you know, with the woods. So and it’s a fun crowd and it’s a good time for us to join in Merriweather right. The symphony Woods what used to be called symphony, right right there crack kind of across from where the mall is in Colombia. And

Nestor Aparicio  16:29

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that’s all day Saturday and Sunday and I’m spending Saturday night data ramps at Annapolis with my man Kurt Newman from bodines. We had him on the program this week as well. So just an amazing week here of baseball, horse racing rock and roll wine in the woods. 50th anniversary of the Maryland lottery. Appreciate you Seth Alcon for coming on pinch hitting for John Martin and taking the taking his medicine after the Orioles took care of the pirates over the weekend. And hey, we’ll see you guys every year now. Right this whole interleague play and balanced schedule and like all that stuff, right?

Seth Elkin  17:01

Yeah, we’re getting used to it now. So I suppose we’ll have to do this a little more often then.

Nestor Aparicio  17:06

Well, the ravens and Steelers get together twice a year so put that down. You know, although we’re not really rivals anymore. You guys are worried about that the Bengals all of a sudden. I don’t

Seth Elkin  17:15

again, I’ve said this before. I don’t think anybody truly worries about the Bengals. They’ll always be the bungles to me Spoken like a

Nestor Aparicio  17:23

true Pittsburgh kid with the Maryland lottery. We love having him on. Get out, play, play responsibly, have some fun this week. Enjoy springtime and come on out and see us on Tuesday. I’ll be giving these away at the local and fallston from 2005 Come on out and see the Maryland crabcakes or it’s also presented by our friends at weathernation. I get to wear the funny floppy hat. I’ll be bringing this one I you know at one point I wanted them to give me like a normal hat. And now the more I wear this, I sort of feel like like inspector Caruso or sort of like Columbo or something when I put this on 866 90 nation you buy two you get two free five years 0% financing with our friends and weathernation just the Maryland crab cake tour coming to a locale near you. We are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. And we never stop talking Baltimore positive