A Virginia woman who earned herself a tidy jackpot has revealed she made a pretty big mistake while purchasing her winning lottery ticket.
We've all heard a myriad of lottery success stories, right? More often than not, they're the reason we all keep gambling our money.
Of course, you may be familiar with the waitress who was tipped a lottery ticket that eventually won $10 million or the group of students who ‘beat the system’ by claiming more than $6 million.
And who could forget the man dubbed the ‘luckiest’ in the world after winning the lottery twice after cheating death?
However, it’s not all plain sailing for many jackpot winners.
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Some have previously discussed how receiving money has soured relations while others have ended up losing all their winnings due to keeping their victory secret from their spouse.
Luckily, the story of a Christiansburg woman’s rise to the prize falls into the more positive camp.
Last month, Miriam Long headed to a CVS store in Blacksburg and was intent on buying a Mega Millions ticket.
The resident had been keeping an eye on the draw, which had grown to a staggering $893 million at the time.
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However, when she reached the Virginia Lottery Machine on South Main Street, she ‘accidentally’ selected the wrong draw.
Instead of receiving a Mega Millions ticket, Long mistakenly selected to play the Powerball.
As per Virginia Lottery officials, the woman matched the first five winning numbers - 10-17-20-39-44.
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However, she unfortunately didn’t hit the Powerball (16) while using the machine’s random Easy Pick feature.
Following her spin on the apparatus, Long realized she’d won a phenomenal $1 million in the March 18 drawing and later said that the victory was ‘overwhelming’.
“My heart was pounding,” she explained. “It’s the best mistake of my life!”
Amazingly, the CVS store was also awarded a $10,000 bonus for selling Long the lottery ticket.
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As we mentioned though, not all lottery stories have happy endings.
Earlier this year, a lottery player by the name of Nicole took to social media to share her dismay after coming in inches of becoming a winner.
On March 18, Nicole shared an image to X, formerly known as Twitter, of the winning numbers of the UK’s National Lottery, Set For Life.
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Winners of this game get £10,000 every month for the next 30 years, so while you may not be a millionaire, you will be sorted for the foreseeable future.
The winning numbers for the March 18 draw were 02, 11, 19, 38, 43, Life ball: 06.
Alongside the winning ticket, Nicole shared her own stake which featured the numbers 03, 12, 20, 39, 44, Life ball 06.
For the first five numbers, she was just one off changing her life.
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After posting, the viral photographs got social media talking, with one user writing: “It’s quite funny, but that’s a lot closer than I ever get!! Poor you! Next time.”
A second said: “This exact thing happened to me when i was 19 you never get over it.”
Please gamble responsibly. For help, support and advice about problem gambling, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline on 1-800-GAMBLER, 24/7.
Ella Scott