Ohio Lottery player hits $50K after strange lucky break
EUCLID, OH — A discarded lottery ticket found on the ground led to a surprising $50,000 payday for an Ohio man who almost never plays the lottery.
The Euclid resident said he discovered a Pick 5 ticket lying on the ground and decided to try his luck by replaying the same numbers.
The first attempt did not produce a winner, but he held onto the ticket anyway.
Weeks later, while feeling lucky with friends from work on April 28, the man remembered the original ticket sitting inside his glove compartment and asked a lottery clerk to replay the exact same numbers.
That decision changed everything.
The numbers 7-3-4-2-1 were drawn during the evening Pick 5 drawing, turning his $1 straight bet into a $50,000 prize.
Ohio Lottery officials said the odds of matching all five numbers in exact order are 1 in 100,000.
The winner said he had only played the lottery a handful of times before the unexpected jackpot.
Pick 5 drawings are held daily across Ohio at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m.
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Key Points
• Euclid man won $50,000 using numbers from discarded lottery ticket
• Winning Pick 5 numbers were replayed from old ticket found on ground
• Odds of exact match were 1 in 100,000