Beating the odds: U.S. man wins $1M twice in 18 months

Players looking to win the lottery face odds so great they’re likely to never win in their entire lives, but for a Massachusetts man who’s won US$1 million twice in a span of a year and a half, those odds don’t seem to apply.

Rolf Rhodes from Mendon, a town about an hour away from Boston, won his second million-dollar prize with a $10 ticket for the Instant Jackpot lotto on Oct. 30, 2019, according to a statement on the lottery’s website. Players looking to win that US$1 million prize would have to beat odds of at least 1 in 1.68 million.

Rhodes’ first US$1 million prize, which he won with another US$10 scratchcard 18 months prior, had him taking on even higher odds in order to win — a 1 in 2,100,000 chance.

According to the lottery, Rhodes chose to receive his first prize in a US$650,000 payout, and his second in 20 annual instalments of US$50,000.

Both of the tickets weren’t bought far from each other as well, with Rhodes’ first prize won in Milford — a town just 10 minutes away from Mendon.

Rhodes isn’t the only lottery winner to have a lucky streak.

Edmonton couple Barbara and Douglas Fink won over $8,100,000 in a 2017 Lotto 64-9 draw — their third combined lotto win.

The couple previously won $100,000 in 2010, while Douglas won a $128,000 Lotto 6-49 prize in 1989 that he split among friends.

Aloysius Power won $100,000 on an Instant Bingo Doubler in June, only to be the recipient of a $138,790.40 prize on Poker Lotto All shortly after.