Massachusetts man mistakenly buys extra Powerball ticket, wins $2 million
A Massachusetts man won $2 million playing the Powerball thanks to a very lucky mistake.
Paul Corcoran, a Fitchburg resident, bought two separate Powerball tickets with the same numbers for the July 9 drawing that each won $1 million before taxes. The first was bought at a Fitchburg Market Basket, and the second came from Country Farms on North Main Street in Leominster.
The Massachusetts State Lottery explained that Corcoran purchased the second Powerball ticket without realizing that the "multi-draw" ticket he had bought earlier already covered him for last Wednesday's drawing.
"Corcoran noted that he initially bought a ticket for seven Powerball drawings and mistakenly thought the final drawing on that ticket had already occurred, leading him to purchase another multi-draw ticket that also included the July 9 drawing," the Lottery said in a statement.
Corcoran's tickets both matched every winning number, except for the Powerball. The winning numbers for the July 9 drawing were 5-9-25-28-69 with a Powerball number of 5.
Corcoran, who claimed his prizes at Lottery headquarters on Friday, told the Lottery that the wins "feel good," but he hasn't decided how to spend the money yet. The stores that sold the winning tickets will each get a $10,000 bonus.
No one has won the Powerball jackpot recently, which is up to $264 million for the July 16 drawing. Powerball tickets are $2 per play, and drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night.
The chances of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.