In most lottery games, your odds are 1 in 292 million. Tough as it may be, there are winners, and these winners are extremely lucky. Today, let us look at the luckiest winners in the history of the lottery. So, before you get your own Ice Casino login, get inspired by these amazing wins.
Take note that for some wins, the names of the winners are not available.
Richard Lustig – $1,052,205
Richard is hailed as the luckiest of all lottery winners. He won the lottery a total of seven times! He is so lucky that he wrote a book called Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery. This book ranked #3 on Amazon back in 2013.
His seven wins total more than a million dollars. Below is a breakdown:
- $10,000 in 1993 from a scratch-off ticket
- $13,696 in 1997 from a lottery in Florida called Fantasy 5
- “Wheel of Fortune” Holiday trip to Los Angeles; this was valued at about $3,500 back in 2000
- Elvis Holiday trip to Memphis; value at about $5,000 in 2001
- $842,152 in 2002 from Florida Mega Money
- $73,658 in 2008 from Florida Fantasy 5
- $98,992 in 2010 for Florida Fantasy 5
Not all of his wins are in cash terms. Two were holiday prizes, not cash. The two-holiday wins were valued at about $8,000 at the time of his winning.
In his book, he said that he reinvested all his winnings back into betting in the lottery. He also said that his method involves picking numbers sequentially and using them again and again.
Experts criticized him, saying that his methods were dangerous. They also said that the sequential numbers were statistically inferior to the random method of choosing numbers.
Williams and Concepcion – $5 million
William Williams walked into a liquor store to buy some perfume. He, along with Michelle Concepcion, bought a lottery scratch card for $20 to break up a $100 bill. The card gave them $5,000,000. They plan to help family members with their winnings and also open a motorbike shop.
€209 Million Win
In Europe, one player got lucky in a lottery called SuperEnalotto. The lottery in Italy produced a millionaire in August 2019. So far, it is the second-highest lottery win in Europe.
The winning ticket cost only €1, and the player bought the ticket from a local bar shop. The shop was Bar Marino near Milan. Jackpots like this are never capped, which means they can keep on growing. The winnings are all taxed by 20% by the government.
Roland Reyes – $543 million
Meanwhile, in the United States, a single ticket matched all six numbers of the Mga Millions lottery in California. The lucky winner won in July 2018 for a total prize of $320 million as a cash option.
Roland claimed the prize on behalf of the winning ticket. He did not show up alone. There was a total of 11 members who won it, and they went to the East Bay District Office in Hayward to get the prize.
$587 million in Powerball
There were two players in Arizona and Missouri who won the $587 million jackpot back in 2012. The first guy was Matt Good, and the other ticket was from a couple named Cindy and Mark Hill.
For Matt, he chose a lump-sum payout that totalled $192 million after the taxes were paid. The couple opted for cash payout, and they also got $192 million. The couple made donations to local causes, and they also purchased land for a wastewater treatment plant.
Is It Worth Betting on the Lottery?
Yes, it is. As you know by now, the risk is too small compared to what you have to gain. A ticket can cost no more than $1, and yet you stand to win millions.
Not all casinos offer lotteries. However, if you go to a casino lobby, you will find scratch card games. These are not lottery games per se, but rather card games where you can also win millions.
The odds of winning are really close to impossible. However, people do win. To give you perspective, here are odds for other things:
- One in 1,222,000 chance of being struck by lightning per year
- One in 59,507 chance of dying from a sting from a hornet or a bee
- One if 558, 669 chance of dying in a storm
What does this mean? It means that you are more likely to get hit by a bee and die than win the lottery. Of course, you would still prefer to get your chances on a lottery. After all, it makes you win money. In short, the risk of losing the bet for a ticket is worth it.
Just remember that your chances of playing the lottery more frequently do not increase your chances of winning. Odds do not work that way.
Now, if you win, you have the option to take the prize as a lump sum or spread it out in several years, called annuities.