As Baltimore keeps pace in battle for the AL East, Lottery winners are celebrating the home run tally

The Orioles return home this week, and despite a rigorous schedule against their American League East competitors, they’re not only a serious contender for the division title, they are leading the major leagues in home runs. To put it mildly, that’s great news for participants in the Maryland Lottery’s Home Run Riches Contestant of the Game Promotion.

The Orioles have many standout hitters, but none is shining more brightly this season than Gunnar Henderson, whose 21 home runs have kept the shortstop in a race for the major league lead.

Every time Henderson hits one out, circles the bases and then trots to the hydration station, his teammates are all smiles, and the Lottery’s Contestants of the Game are celebrating along with the Oriole dugout. Each Contestant is assigned to a game and receives $500 for being selected and another $500 for each home run the Orioles hit in that game. And if the O’s hit a grand slam – as they have four times this season – the Contestant of the Game lands a $5,000 prize. 

Those four grand slams – two by Adley Rutschman and one each by Anthony Santander and Henderson – are among 105 home runs the Orioles have sent out of the park so far this season, delivering a total of $103,500 in prizes for the Contestants of the Game.

Fan-favorite second-chance contest adds new grand slam twist

With the 2024 season underway, Orioles fans are enjoying the team’s quest for a second consecutive American League East division title. With new ownership, the returning nucleus of last year’s 101-win team and plenty of up-and-coming talent on the horizon, the future looks bright and orange-tinted. Understandably, fan excitement is at a fever-pitch with the potential that the 2024 season presents for the Birds.

Some of the fans with great expectations for the Orioles in 2024 are also participating in this year’s Home Run Riches Contestant of the Game promotion from the Maryland Lottery. The FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Bases Loaded game and second chance promotion are back with an exciting new twist. 

This year, the Lottery’s baseball-themed second chance promotion will include a chance for fans to win big money when the Orioles hit home runs – especially when Birds betters connect for grand slams. This season’s 162 Contestants of the Game will be selected in monthly drawings through August. Each winner receives $500 for being selected and will be designated as the Contestant of the Game for an upcoming Orioles matchup. They’ll also win an additional $500 for each home run or $5,000 for each grand slam hit by the Orioles during their designated game. 

The potential for winning big both on the field and in the Lottery’s promotion is high: In 2023 the Orioles sent a batter to the plate with the bases loaded 109 times and hit six grand slams. Additionally, the Orioles slugged a total of 183 home runs last season leading to $222,000 in prizes for the Contestants of the Game. 

The Orioles are returning home to Baltimore for a 10-game homestand, kicking it off with a matchup against their American League East rivals, the Boston Red Sox. As you tune in for all the action, you might hear our announcers call out a “Contestant of the Game.” That’s right - the wildly popular Maryland Lottery promotion has returned for the 2022 season and the Lottery will be selecting a contestant for each of the 162 Orioles games this season to win cash prizes.

Enter winning and non-winning FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Bases Loaded tickets, purchased between March 7 and Aug. 29, into your My Lottery Rewards account to be automatically entered into the promotion. Not yet a member of My Lottery Rewards? Click here -- it’s free and easy to join!

Each winner will receive $500 for being selected, plus an additional $500 for every Orioles home run hit during that game. Last year, these contestants really cleaned-up, as the O’s hit 195 home runs during the 2021 campaign – good for a total of $178,500 in prize money.

If you have already entered the promotion and want to find out if you were a winner in yesterday’s drawing, click here. The remaining drawings are May 24, June 28, July 26, and Aug. 30. Entries are cumulative, so once you enter a ticket, it remains in the mix unless selected as a winner.

Will last year’s Silver Slugger performance of Cedric Mullins and Trey Mancini’s 2021 Home Run Derby heroics ignite the Oriole bats for the “Contestants of the Game” this year? Be sure to watch the Orioles all season long on MASN and MASN2 as the home run tally adds up!  

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