Working in the lottery world, we're often treated to the most bizarre tales of lottery winners. We read about people winning millions in the lottery, then going bankrupt years later. About people turning up to collect their winnings in all manner of fancy dress and disguises (horse's mask anyone?). And most recently, about a couple from California who won over $500,000 by playing the lottery with numbers that came to them in a dream.
But this most recent lottery story really takes the cake. When we hear of someone who plays and wins the lottery on purpose, we clap and find out if they're single. However if we hear of someone who plays the lottery BY ACCIDENT and wins, we scratch our heads and wonder how some people can be so gosh darn lucky!
The person we're talking about is Richard Noll from Massachusetts - a man who tried to buy a sandwich and ended up winning $10 million instead. Now that's what we call a lunch break!
Weird and wonderful as the story may be, Richard's rise to riches all started one day when he tried to buy lunch. As luck would have it, he only had a $100 bill on him at the time. Knowing that he would need to break it in order to pay for his sandwich at a nearby shop, Richard stopped into a grocery store to buy two $20 Platinum Millions instant tickets (scratch-off tickets for the Massachusetts State Lottery) in order to make change for his lunch.
Imagine his shock then, when one of the two tickets turned out to be a $10 million winner. That's just the kind of surprise we like to get!
An astonished Noll went in with his wife last week to claim his prize money, which he elected to receive as a $6.5 million once-off cash payout. After taxes, Noll will be left with a tidy $4.55 million in his account - more than enough to buy a house and take his granddaughter to Disneyworld.
It just goes to show - you never know what kind of luck a lottery ticket could bring you. One week you could win £25 on the EuroMillions lottery, the next you could be raking in the gigantic $261 million Powerball jackpot. It's a delicate combination of luck, persistence and timing - get those three right and we could soon be reading all about your giant lottery win!
So which lottery will you be playing this week? The mid-week lotteries are jam-packed with cash, thanks to weekend rollovers on the Mega Millions, Powerball, UK Lotto and Euromillions. Just buy your lottery ticket online with GiantLottos.com and make things happen! Who knows - spending a few bucks on a lottery ticket today could mean multi millions in your bank account tomorrow. Stranger things have happened - just ask Richard Noll, whose sandwich turned out to be one-way ticket to financial freedom!