Sometimes you just get a gut feeling.
That’s exactly what happened to one Massachusetts man when he won the state lottery six times with the same numbers — that, or he’s just really lucky.
Raymond Roberts Sr., a Vietnam veteran, won the US$25,000 ($33,960) Lucky for Life lottery after he successfully matched the first five numbers on all six of his tickets, according to the state lotto. He collected his winnings on Dec. 15.
Roberts told the lottery it was “intuition” that caused him to purchase six tickets with the same numbers, a combination of birthdays and important anniversaries.
Each winning ticket came with a cash prize of US$390,000 ($529,581). In the end, Roberts walked away with US$1.95 million (over $2.6 million) before taxes, the combination of five of his six winning tickets.
Roberts opted to use the sixth ticket for an annuity option, which will ensure he receives 20 annual payments of US$25,000 ($33,960) before taxation.
The local liquor store Roberts purchased his winning ticket from will also receive a US$30,000 ($40,761) bonus — US$5,000 ($6,792) for every winning ticket.
Roberts, a resident of Fall River, Mass., has been playing the lottery for over 20 years. He’s used the winning combination of numbers in the past.
Though Roberts did not disclose how he would spend his winnings, he said he would be buying a motorcycle.
In Canada, some folks have had similar luck.
This month, Toronto resident Nishit Parikh won a $55-million Lotto Max Jackpot. Parikh jokingly said he would use his winnings to “finally afford a house in Toronto.”