Lucky lottery player wins $50,000 after purchasing wrong ticket

One man’s mistake has turned into a massive payday.

Ron from Malaga, Ohio, had intended to purchase a Mega Millions ticket after a recent lucky streak winning several 50/50 raffles and $500 on the Super Bowl. His brother-in-law also spoke about playing the lottery game, piquing Ron’s interest.

He went to a Walmart to make the purchase and was shocked when he scanned the ticket to reveal the $50,000 prize, but he was even more surprised to learn that he had actually played Pick 5 instead of Mega Millions.

Ron, who was only identified by the Ohio lottery by his first name, matched all five numbers during the February 5 evening draw. The odds of matching all five numbers in a straight bet are 1 in 100,000, according to the lottery organization.

The customer service agent told him: “There’s no mistake. You won $50,000!”

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Ron told the Ohio Lottery that his wife was stunned by the news of his win, as she’s typically the lucky one. After taxes, Ron took home $36,625. He plans to spoil his grandkids and donate to his church, he told the Ohio Lottery.

Elsewhere in Ohio, a man who has played the lottery consistently for 22 years recently won a $3.5 million Classic Lotto jackpot earlier this month.

The man, who chose to stay anonymous, won the February 4 drawing and told lottery officials he kept buying tickets despite two decades of mostly small wins because he is “stubborn,” according to the Ohio Lottery.

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Even after becoming a snowbird and spending part of each year in warmer weather, the winner never broke his routine. He budgeted about $10 a month for tickets and leaned on his best friend to keep the streak alive when he was out of town. If he couldn’t buy tickets himself, his friend made the purchases so he wouldn’t miss a drawing. The winning ticket was sold at gas station MAPCO #1929, formerly a Circle K, located at 997 Brown Street in Akron.

When the winning numbers were announced, the longtime player recognized the combination instantly – 6-8-16-20-26-45 – even though he did not have the ticket with him.

After memorizing the numbers over 22 years of playing, he realized almost immediately that he had finally hit the jackpot. Overwhelmed, he shouted the news to his wife and celebrated by keeping a long-running promise.

“We’re going to get a really big pool!” he recalled saying.