(NewsInsights.org) – Millions of Americans buy lottery tickets every year, spending $108 billion on the chance to win big in 2022, according to The Motley Fool. Despite the long odds of actually winning, the idea of spending a couple of bucks to take in a potentially life-changing fortune appeals to many people. The dream became real for an Everett, Washington, woman who recently bought five identical Match 4 tickets in the state lottery and won the grand prize five times.
The Washington Lottery only identified the winner as K.L. to safeguard her privacy, but the organization relayed her incredible story. The woman had told the lottery organization she played Match 4 weekly and always chose numbers that had “personal meaning” to her. In this case, she was reminiscing through a series of old photos of her mother.
When she needed to choose four numbers between 1 and 24 for the Match 4 tickets, she used a combination of her and her mother’s birthdates, using the same numbers on all five tickets she purchased. Each ticket cost $2.
K.L. also mentioned that the Washington Lottery held the weekly drawing on her mother’s wedding anniversary. However, she had no idea she’d won until she opened her Match 4 app on her phone the day after the drawing. Each of her five tickets matched all four numbers, winning $10,000 each, or a grand total of $50,000.
K.L. said the shocking win left her husband “speechless” when she told him about it. She indicated to Washington Lottery officials she planned to donate a portion of her winnings to nonprofit organizations, including animal charities.
Jonathan D. Cohen, a lottery expert, told Vox that roughly half of Americans play the lottery at least once a year. Around 12.5% buy tickets weekly, like K.L. in Washington. For many, lottery tickets, like casino gambling, are simply entertainment.
Yet, Cohen said some spend upwards of $50 to $100 per week that they can’t really afford, obsessively chasing after a jackpot that could change their lives. Cohen stressed that what most lotteries actually sell, win or lose, is hope.
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