People who dream of a financial windfall must ask themselves at some point in their lives, “Is there any secret to winning the lottery?”
Regardless of any supposed trick or strategy, statistics tell us that a person has a greater chance of being killed by lightning, an asteroid, or even a snake bite.
One man in Massachusetts, however, found a way — and he proved it six times over.
Earlier this month, Raymond Roberts, a Vietnam vet from the waterfront city of Fall River, got a gut feeling and entered a liquor store to purchase six Lucky for Life lottery tickets.
For each, he selected the same exact numbers he had always used — a jumbled assortment of anniversary and birthday dates of significance to him.
Roberts had been trying his luck for nearly two decades before finally striking big in Massachusetts, the state clocking the highest sums per capita spent on lottery and scratch-off tickets in the country.
“We all want that winning ticket, but I don’t think we mind losing so much when we know where the money is going,” said Ted Handy, Massachusetts resident and frequent lottery player, speaking with The Dallas Express.
Funds from lottery ticket sales in Massachusetts are distributed to local aid projects in the state’s 351 cities and towns.
However, Roberts is getting his cut after the five numbers on his six tickets came up, defying the odds of holding just a single winning ticket, which stands at one in 1,813,028.
Since multiple wins with the same numbers are possible, Roberts chose a lump sum payment for five of the tickets, amounting to $1.95 million (over $2.6 million before taxes), and the annuity option for the sixth, which will see him receiving 20 annual payments of $25,000 ($33,960 before taxation).
Roberts was not the only winner, though. The liquor store where he purchased his winning ticket will also receive a cash prize of $30,000, $5,000 for each winning ticket sold.
Upon claiming his prize on December 15, Roberts told the lottery officials that “intuition” led him to purchase the six tickets and run the same five numbers.
While this news might disappoint some trying to uncover the secret to hitting it big, it could also encourage others to play more “intuitively” in the hope that Lady Luck will smile at them someday.
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