You’ve seen the billboards while driving down I-95 or sitting in traffic near the Baltimore Harbor. $1,000 a day for life. It sounds like a fever dream or something a sketchy late-night infomercial would promise. But Cash 4 Life MD is a very real, very popular multi-state draw game that the Maryland Lottery has been running since early 2015.
Maryland joined the party a few months after the game launched in New York and New Jersey. Since then, it’s become the "middle child" of the lottery world—not quite the behemoth of Powerball, but way more sustainable for your sanity than a scratch-off.
Winning feels impossible. Obviously. The odds are long, but they aren't "hit by a meteorite twice" long. Let's get into the weeds of how this actually works in Maryland, because the way you get paid—and the way the tax man looks at you—is probably different than you think.
The Mechanics of a Cash 4 Life MD Ticket
It’s a two-drum game. You aren't just picking a line of numbers and praying. You choose five white balls from a field of 1 to 60. Then, you pick a single green "Cash Ball" from a field of 1 to 4.
Simple, right?
A ticket costs two bucks. You can walk into any Royal Farms or 7-Eleven in Bethesda, Annapolis, or anywhere else in the state and grab one. You can also play the same numbers for up to 15 consecutive drawings if you’re the type of person who has "lucky numbers" they refuse to give up on. Drawings happen every single night at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.
Consistency is the name of the game here. Unlike Mega Millions, which feels like a once-in-a-blue-moon event when the jackpot hits a billion, Cash 4 Life MD is a daily grind. It’s built for the person who wants a steady stream of wealth rather than a mountain of gold they’ll probably blow in three years.
The Odds That Nobody Likes to Talk About
If you want the top prize—that legendary grand a day—the odds are roughly 1 in 21.8 million.
Compare that to Powerball, where the odds are about 1 in 292 million. Suddenly, 21 million doesn't look so bad. It’s still a massive long shot. You’re more likely to be dealt a royal flush in poker on your first hand of the night, but hey, someone has to win.
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The second prize is also massive: $1,000 a week for life. The odds for that sit at about 1 in 7.2 million. Most people would happily "settle" for an extra $52,000 a year before taxes. That’s a new car every year. Or a very nice mortgage payment covered forever.
Why Maryland Taxes Change the Math
Winning the lottery in Maryland is a bit different than winning in, say, Florida or Texas. Maryland loves its taxes.
If you win a prize over $5,000, the Maryland Lottery is required by law to withhold taxes before they even hand you the check. For Maryland residents, that’s 8.75% for state taxes plus the 24% federal withholding.
If you’re just visiting from out of state and buy a ticket at a Maryland gas station, the state still takes its cut, usually around 8%.
So, that "$1,000 a day" isn't actually a thousand dollars landing in your bank account every morning. It’s a thousand dollars gross. After the government takes its slice, you’re looking at a significantly smaller daily deposit. It’s still life-changing money, but you won't be buying a private island on day one.
Annuity vs. Cash: The Great Maryland Dilemma
This is where most winners get tripped up. When you hit the top prize in Cash 4 Life MD, you have a choice to make. And you usually have to make it within 60 days of being validated as a winner.
- The Annuity: This is the "For Life" part. You get paid out for at least 20 years, but it continues as long as you are breathing. If you live for another 50 years, they keep paying.
- The Cash Option: This is a one-time, lump-sum payment. For the top prize, the cash value is typically $7 million. For the second prize ($1,000 a week), the cash value is usually $1 million.
Most financial advisors—the real ones, not your cousin who trades crypto—will tell you to run the numbers on inflation. Seven million dollars today is worth a lot more than $365,000 spread out over the next 20 years because of the time value of money. But, the annuity offers a "safety net" against yourself. You can't blow $7 million in a weekend if you only have access to a few grand a week.
Maryland is strict about the 20-year minimum. If you win and unfortunately pass away after only three years, the remaining 17 years of payments go to your estate. Your heirs get the "life" part of your luck, at least for a while.
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How to Claim Your Prize in the Old Line State
Don't just run to the nearest retailer if you see those five white balls and that green ball match your ticket.
For prizes up to $600, any Maryland Lottery retailer can pay you out. If you’ve won more than $600 but less than $5,000, you can go to certain "Expanded Cashing Authority Program" (XCAP) locations. These are usually bigger stores or dedicated lottery hubs.
But if you hit the big one? You’re going to Baltimore.
The Maryland Lottery Headquarters is located at Montgomery Park Business Center on Washington Boulevard. You’ll need:
- The original signed ticket (sign it immediately!).
- A government-issued photo ID.
- Proof of your Social Security number.
Honestly, if you win the top prize, the first thing you should do isn't driving to Baltimore. It's calling a lawyer and a tax professional. Maryland allows winners to remain anonymous, which is a massive win for your privacy. You don't want every long-lost relative and "investment expert" knocking on your door in Towson the day after your win is announced.
Common Myths About Cash 4 Life MD
People think the game is rigged because the drawings aren't on local TV as often as they used to be. Not true. The drawings are conducted using a mechanical drawing machine—not a computer—and are overseen by independent auditors.
Another myth: "I should only buy tickets from 'lucky' stores."
You’ll see signs in windows saying "We sold a $1 million ticket here!" It makes for great marketing. But mathematically, the store has zero impact on the numbers printed on that thermal paper. A machine in a sleepy shop in Western Maryland has the same RNG (Random Number Generation) luck as a busy terminal in the middle of Baltimore City.
The only thing that actually increases your odds is buying more tickets, but even then, the jump from one ticket to ten tickets is statistically microscopic in the face of 21 million-to-one odds.
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Variations in Play: Multi-Match and Others
Maryland is a bit of a lottery-heavy state. While Cash 4 Life MD is a mainstay, it competes with Multi-Match, which is a Maryland-only game.
The difference is the jackpot structure. Multi-Match jackpots start at $500,000 and grow. Cash 4 Life is static. The prize today is the same as the prize next Tuesday. This stability is why a certain type of player prefers it. You know exactly what you’re playing for. There's no "jackpot fatigue" where you wait for the prize to get high enough to be "worth it."
Real-World Winning Stories
In 2023, a man from Frederick hit the second-tier prize. He chose the $1 million cash option. His reasoning was simple: he wanted to pay off his house and set up a college fund for his grandkids immediately. He didn't want to wait for a weekly check.
Then there was the winner from Prince George's County who actually took the $1,000 a week for life. They were younger, in their 30s, and viewed it as a "super-charged" retirement account that allowed them to quit a high-stress job and pursue art.
These aren't just statistics. They are people who spent two bucks at a gas station and changed their entire family tree.
Actionable Steps for the Disciplined Player
If you're going to play, do it with a plan. The lottery should be entertainment, not a retirement strategy.
- Set a "Fun Budget": Only play what you can afford to lose. If that’s $2 a week, stick to it.
- Check Your Tickets Twice: Use the Maryland Lottery app. It has a scanner. People leave millions of dollars on the table every year because they misread their numbers.
- Sign the Back: The moment you buy a ticket, sign it. In Maryland, a lottery ticket is a "bearer instrument." If you lose it and haven't signed it, whoever finds it can legally claim the prize.
- Understand the "Lump Sum" Math: Before you win, decide what your "number" is. If you're older, the cash option almost always makes more sense. If you're 18, that annuity is a powerful hedge against a long life.
- Use the Web Resources: The Maryland Lottery website provides "Hot and Cold" number charts. While they don't predict the future, they’re fun for players who like to track patterns.
Cash 4 Life MD remains one of the most straightforward ways to "dream big" in Maryland. It lacks the complexity of some of the newer scratch-off games and offers a prize that is uniquely focused on long-term stability rather than a one-time explosion of wealth. Play smart, keep your ticket safe, and remember that the tax office in Annapolis is always going to be your first "partner" in any big win.