Michigan man wins $1m on the lottery after 'fortune telling machine' gives him the numbers
A lot of people get their lottery numbers after having a dream about finding the winning combination, but this guy got his inspiration from a Zoltar machine.
It's said that there's a one in 300 million chance that you'll win the lottery in the US. To put it in other terms, Tim Chartier, a math professor at Davidson College in North Carolina, says that that figure is the equivalent to flipping heads on a coin 28 times in a row.
Chartier advises that you pick random numbers instead of sticking with a set sequence each time.
He said: "If you pick your favorite number or the day of your birthday like the 7th, which is the day of the next drawing, many people can be doing the same and that puts a lot of numbers between 1 and 31.
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"Picking your own numbers doesn’t change the odds of winning. But, picking random numbers does increase the odds that if you win, no one else wins."
But someone who has ignored this advice is Stephen Huesgen, who has used the same numbers for three decades.
As to how Huesgen, from Fraser, Michigan, came up with the winning combo, it all stems back to Zoltar machine and a trip to Las Vegas...
Speaking to the PowerBall after his recent $1,000,000 win, the 56-year-old shared: "About 30 years ago, I was in Las Vegas and got a fortune from a Zoltar machine. On my fortune, there was a set of lucky numbers, so I have been playing those numbers on lottery games ever since."
Huesgen went on: "The morning after the Powerball drawing, I saw an email from the Lottery, which is when I found out I’d won a $1 million Powerball prize. I yelled to my wife: ‘Is this real?’ I don’t think this is going to fully hit me until I cash the check!"
The Michigan native was successful on the April 22 PowerBall draw where he matched all five white balls: 24-29-32-49-63.
In regards to what he plans on doing with the money, Huesgen said plans on paying off his house and car, take a vacation, and save for retirement. Good for you, Stephen!
While the odds of someone winning the lottery is pretty unlikely, there are some people who have won it several times – one being Robert Bevan.
Bevan has won the lottery a staggering 18 times, with his biggest jackpot to date being $200,000. Elsewhere, Joan Ginther has won five times, the biggest check being for an eye-watering $10 million.
I think it's time they start sharing some of their luck, don't you?
Niamh Shackleton