For the past 20 years, a man in Michigan, USA has been using the same set of numbers to buy lottery tickets, and finally, his persistence paid off as he won a record-breaking $32.91 million jackpot last month.
According to a press release issued by the Michigan Lottery on January 9, the 73-year-old man from Macomb County said that he has been playing “Lotto 47” with the numbers 02-03-12-15-16-33 since he started playing 20 years ago.
These numbers matched the ones drawn on December 13, resulting in him winning the massive prize of $32.91 million, the largest jackpot in the history of “Lotto 47.”
He purchased the winning ticket at a store in Chesterfield, located about 35 miles north of Detroit.
The man mentioned, “I have been playing Lotto 47 for 20 years using the same number combination. When I checked the ticket and saw three matching numbers, I thought, ‘At least I can get back $5.’ But when I saw the rest of the numbers matching as well, I rubbed my eyes, looked at the ticket again because I couldn’t believe my eyes!”
He added, “I called my kids to tell them, but they didn’t believe me and had to come see the ticket themselves. We were all very excited! You never expect to win such a prize, so I still can’t quite believe it.”
The lucky winner recently went to the company’s headquarters to collect his prize. He chose to take the lump sum payment, which amounts to approximately $22.8 million after taxes. He plans to buy himself a new pair of shoes, a new car, and share the money with his family.
With a smile, he said, “Honestly, all I really want to do is buy myself a new pair of shoes. I also plan to share some money with my family and buy a new car.”
Before this man set the record for receiving the highest amount in “Lotto 47,” the previous record was set in November 2020 when two lucky players split a $32.30 million prize. Those two tickets were sold in different locations.
Each “Lotto 47” ticket costs only $1. Players choose six numbers from 1 to 47 for a chance to win a jackpot starting at $1 million. If the jackpot is not won in a particular draw, the prize money rolls over until someone wins it.
The “Lotto 47” draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday at 7:29 p.m.
Stories of individuals winning big jackpots by persistently playing the lottery with the same set of numbers have been seen before.
In a similar tale, a man from Massachusetts had been using the same numbers to play the lottery for 30 years. His luck finally struck in 2024 when the ticket he purchased with his lucky numbers landed him a $2.64 million jackpot.