Lottery players are a meticulous bunch. The majority of us stick with the same numbers year in, year out. The fear is that if we change our numbers, those we usually choose will come up that week and we will lose out. It’s Murphy’s Law, yet the history of playing the lottery is full of stories of players choosing the wrong lottery numbers. What happened to one resident of New York is quite remarkable. He did not play the wrong numbers; he played the wrong game. Playing wrong lottery game can sometimes lead to a mild telling off from your spouse, but in this case it led to a big win.
Jackpot for Playing Wrong Lottery Game
Nancy Viola asked her husband to buy a ticket for the $1.5bn Powerball draw in January. Instead her husband Vito, a Police Officer in New York, accidentally bought a ticket for the USA’s other big game – Mega Millions. Only afterwards did the couple realise their mistake. Those three winners for the enormous Powerball came forward within weeks. The Viola’s numbers did not come up, thankfully. However the numbers did come up in the jackpot in the other game. The pair netted an impressive $169m (£112m)
The story has only just come to light now as the couple decided to keep their win secret. But feeling their story was newsworthy, they came forward to announce their win. Seeing their numbers had come up, they opted to take the lump sum. With taxes and deductions, they ended up with nearly $65m, or around £45m. The couple are only in their 30s and expect to live to see a comfortable retirement. At the time, they hadn’t decided what to do with the money. After all, £45m is gives lottery winners a lot to think about!